Geographic Range
Aetobatus narinari
(spotted eagle ray) is
globally distributed
throughout tropical and warm temperate waters as far north as North Carolina, U.S.A.
in the summer and as far south as Brazil. This species has also been known to inhabit
the red sea and oceanic waters surrounding the Hawaiian islands. Its latitudinal range
spans from 43°N to 32°S.
- Biogeographic Regions
- indian ocean
- atlantic ocean
- pacific ocean
- Other Geographic Terms
- cosmopolitan
Habitat
Aetobatus narinari
is a reef associated ray and is commonly found along reef edges. It prefers warm
water with soft bottoms consisting usually of mud, sand and gravel.
Aetobatus narinari
spends most of its time around 60 m deep but may dive up 80 m deep. It is often seen
in beach areas as well as estuaries and mangrove swamps throughout tropical regions
of the world.
- Habitat Regions
- saltwater or marine
- Aquatic Biomes
- pelagic
- reef
- coastal
- brackish water
- Other Habitat Features
- estuarine
Physical Description
Many eagle rays (including
Aetobatus narinari
) have a flattened snout that protrudes from the pectoral disc.
Aetobatus narinari
can be distinguished by a pectoral disc that is approximately twice as wide as it
is long. The posterior edge of the pectoral fins are concave and very angular tips
(Bester, 2008). The ventral surface is white and the dorsal surface is either blue
or black and peppered with white spots and rings. It has rounded pelvic fins and
a very small dorsal fin but lacks a caudal fin all together. The pectoral fins make
up a majority of the pectoral disc and are acutely angled at the lateral tips.
Aetobatus narinari
possesses stinging spines, which can be found behind the dorsal fin, and a slender
whip-like tail that can be up to three times as long as the width of the pectoral
disc (Bester, 2008). It can weigh as much as 230 kg and can reach disc widths of up
to 330 cm; however, the average disc width of
A. narinari
is 180 cm. Sexual dimorphism has not been reported in this species.
- Other Physical Features
- ectothermic
- heterothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- venomous
Development
Aetobatus narinari
is ovoviviparous, as its eggs develop inside the uterus and hatch within the mother
prior to emerging. Once the embryos are released from the egg, they are nourished
by a yolk sac rather than through a placental connection with the mother. Little is
known of the development of
A. narinari
. Newborn pups generally measure 17 to 35 cm in disc width.
Reproduction
Prior to mating, multiple
Aetobatus narinari
males chase a single females while grasping her dorsum with their upper tooth plate.
A single male then grabs one of the female's pectoral fins and roles her into a vertical
position and inserts his claspers. Copulation can last from 20 to 90 seconds and
females have been known to repeat this process up to 4 times over a relatively short
period of time. The mating system of
Aetobatus narinari
has not been clearly defined; however, the competitive behavior of males prior to
copulations suggests polygyny.
Breeding season in
Aetobatus narinari
varies by location but usually occurs during mid-summer. Typically, females give
birth to 2 pups per pregnancy but can have between 1 and 4. Gestation lasts for approximately
12 months, but can be short as 8 months depending on location and mean water temperature
during gestation. Evidence suggests that
A. narinari
becomes sexually mature when they grow to about half their maximum disc width, which
typically occurs between 4 and 6 years of age.
- Key Reproductive Features
- seasonal breeding
- sexual
- fertilization
- ovoviviparous
Other than the in-utero protection and yolk sac a mother provides her young prior to birth, there is no information available regarding parental care in Aetobatus narinari .
- Parental Investment
- female parental care
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
There is no information available regarding the average life span of Aetobatus narinari .
Behavior
Aetobatus narinari
feeds according to tide. During high tide, it typically forages for food and socializes
with conspecific near sand flats. Mating usually occurs during high tide as well.
When tide begins to fall, foraging activities taper off and it descends the water
column to deeper water. At low tide,
Aetobatus narinari
often rests in large groups in deep water. The cycle repeats as tide rises.
Aetobatus narinari
is known to jump high out of the water, a behavior known as breaching. It is hypothesized
that
A. narinari
breaches as an evasive maneuvering to avoid predation and as a method to remove ventrally
attached parasites. Females have been observed giving birth during breaching, as
the force of landing back in the water is thought to help push the pups out of the
uterus.
Aetobatus narinari
has been documented traveling in schools ranging from 3 to 50 individuals. Schooling
is thought to occur more often during breeding season and has been suggested as a
predatory defense mechanism.
- Key Behaviors
- natatorial
- motile
Home Range
There is no information available regarding the average home range size of Aetobatus narinari .
Communication and Perception
As with all
cartilaginous fishes
,
Aetobatus narinari
has specialized electrosensory organs commonly referred to as Ampullae of Lorenzini.
These sensory organs consists of jelly-filled pores that create an electrosensory
network along the snout, which increases the sensitivity of
A. narinari
to prey movement, as muscle contractions create an electrical pulse. In general,
elasmobranchs
have excellent vision and olfactory perception, which help them avoid predators and
detect prey. In addition, all fish have a
lateral line system
that allows them to sense changes in pressure and temperature in the surrounding
environment. There is no information available regarding intraspecific communication
in
Aetobatus narinari
.
Food Habits
Primary prey of
Aetobatus narinari
consists of
crustaceans
,
molluscs
,
echinoderms
and
polychaete worms
. It is also known to occasionally consume smaller fish as well. When a prey item
is captured,
A. narinari
crushes it between the upper and lower dental plates. Prior to ingestion, it uses
6 to 7 rows of papillae located on the roof of the mouth to remove indigestible items
(e.g., shell and bone).
- Primary Diet
-
carnivore
- eats non-insect arthropods
- molluscivore
- vermivore
- Animal Foods
- fish
- mollusks
- aquatic or marine worms
- aquatic crustaceans
- echinoderms
Predation
Silvertip sharks
and
great hammerheads
, are important predators of spotted eagle rays. Sharks have also been reported to
follow spotted eagle rays during the birthing season in order to feed on newborn pups.
Similar to other
cartilaginous fishes
, spotted eagle rays have a network of electrosensory organs on their snout that helps
them detect potential predators. In addition, all fish have a lateral line system
that allows them to detect changes in temperature and pressure in their immediate
environment.
Ecosystem Roles
Spotted eagle rays are predators of a variety of marine invertebrates and are important
prey for a number of
shark
species. Information regarding parasites specific to this species is limited, however,
ectoparasites such as
marine leeches,
are thought to be common. Endoparasites such as
trematodes
and
tapeworms,
are common as well.
- trematodes, ( Thaumatocotyle pseudodasybatis )
- marine leech, ( Branchellion torpedinis )
- tapeworms, ( Acanthobothrium monski )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Although spotted eagle rays are sometimes targeted for their meat, detailed accounts
of captures are limited.
- Positive Impacts
- food
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Spotted eagle rays are capable of stinging humans with their venomous spine, which
occasionally results in death. There are a few documented cases of spotted eagle rays
jumping out of the water and onto boats.
- Negative Impacts
-
injures humans
- bites or stings
- venomous
Conservation Status
Aetobatus narinari
is listed as near threatened on the IUCN's Red List of Theatened Species. Although
detailed accounts of its capture are limited, small litter sizes, schooling tendencies
and inshore habitat preferences make this species particularly vulnerable to overfishing.
In addition, in shore fishing gear (beach seine, gillnet, trawl etc.) is widely available
and the practice of in shore fishing is largely unregulated, resulting in the IUCN's
near threatened listing. In shore fishing pressure on
A. narinari
is particularly intense in southeast Asia. As a result, the IUCN classifies this
species as vulnerable in this part of its geographic range.
Aetobatus narinari
is protected in Australia, the Maldives, and Florida. Much of its geographic range
in Australia's coastal waters includes the Great Barrier Reef, a third of which is
protected against fishing. In addition, the use of turtle exclusion devices is mandatory
in prawn trawl fisheries of Northern Australia, which likely decreases by-catch. The
export of rays and ray skins was banned in the Maldives in 1995 and 1996, respectively.
In addition,
elasmobranchs
are protected in marine reserves surrounding the Maldives that attract ecotourists
interested in marine wildlife. Finally,
A. narinari
cannot be harvested, possessed, landed, purchased, sold or exchanged in Florida.
Additional Links
Contributors
tom pederson (author), Augsburg College, Kevin Potts (editor), Augsburg College, John Berini (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
- Atlantic Ocean
-
the body of water between Africa, Europe, the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), and the western hemisphere. It is the second largest ocean in the world after the Pacific Ocean.
- Pacific Ocean
-
body of water between the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), Australia, Asia, and the western hemisphere. This is the world's largest ocean, covering about 28% of the world's surface.
- cosmopolitan
-
having a worldwide distribution. Found on all continents (except maybe Antarctica) and in all biogeographic provinces; or in all the major oceans (Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific.
- saltwater or marine
-
mainly lives in oceans, seas, or other bodies of salt water.
- pelagic
-
An aquatic biome consisting of the open ocean, far from land, does not include sea bottom (benthic zone).
- reef
-
structure produced by the calcium carbonate skeletons of coral polyps (Class Anthozoa). Coral reefs are found in warm, shallow oceans with low nutrient availability. They form the basis for rich communities of other invertebrates, plants, fish, and protists. The polyps live only on the reef surface. Because they depend on symbiotic photosynthetic algae, zooxanthellae, they cannot live where light does not penetrate.
- coastal
-
the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.
- brackish water
-
areas with salty water, usually in coastal marshes and estuaries.
- estuarine
-
an area where a freshwater river meets the ocean and tidal influences result in fluctuations in salinity.
- ectothermic
-
animals which must use heat acquired from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate body temperature
- heterothermic
-
having a body temperature that fluctuates with that of the immediate environment; having no mechanism or a poorly developed mechanism for regulating internal body temperature.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- venomous
-
an animal which has an organ capable of injecting a poisonous substance into a wound (for example, scorpions, jellyfish, and rattlesnakes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- internal fertilization
-
fertilization takes place within the female's body
- ovoviviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs develop within the maternal body without additional nourishment from the parent and hatch within the parent or immediately after laying.
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- electric
-
uses electric signals to communicate
- food
-
A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.
- venomous
-
an animal which has an organ capable of injecting a poisonous substance into a wound (for example, scorpions, jellyfish, and rattlesnakes).
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- molluscivore
-
eats mollusks, members of Phylum Mollusca
- natatorial
-
specialized for swimming
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
References
Bester, C. 2008. "Florida Museum of Natural History" (On-line). Accessed April 22, 2011 at http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/seray/seray.html .
Breder, C., D. Rosen. 1966. Modes of reproduction in fishes . Neptune City, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications.
Breder, C., D. Rosen. 1966. "Modes of reproduction in fishes" (On-line). T.F.H. Publications. Accessed April 22, 2011 at http://www.fishbase.org/references/FBRefSummary.php?id=205&speccode=1256 .
Compagno, L., D. Ebert, M. Smale, London. 1989.
Guide to the sharks and rays of southern Africa
. London: New Holland.
Florida Museum of Natural History, 2005. "2005 Biological profiles: spotted eagle ray" (On-line). Accessed April 21, 2011 at www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/SERay/SERay.htmlhttp://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/SERay/SERay.html .
Humann, P. 1989. Reef Fish Identification . Jacksonville, Florida: New World Publications Inc..
Kyne, P., H. Ishihara, S. Dudley, W. White. 2006. "Aetobatus narinari" (On-line). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed April 24, 2011 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/39415/0 .
Ochumba , . 1988. The distribution of skates and rays along the Kenyan coast. Journal of East African History and Nature , 78: 192.
Robins, C., R. G.C.. 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America . Boston, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company.
2005. "Coral Reef Creatures" (On-line). Beatiful Oceans. Accessed May 01, 2011 at http://www.beautifuloceans.com/creatures/n-to-z/spotted-eagle-ray/224-spotted-eagle-ray-aetobatus-narinari.html .