New Zealand eagle ray

A huge variety of these flattened and graceful relatives of sharks are found around Australia.

SKATES AND RAYS ARE flattened fish that evolved from shark-like ancestors 20 200 million years ago. Globally, there are about 1250 s species, 320 of which are found in Australian waters. The Their bodies are disc shaped, formed by the fusion o of pectoral fins with the head and trunk. Most are bo bottom-feeding, marine species, but some are found in freshwater and estuarine environments, such a as eastern Australia’s estuary stingray. The major di difference between skates and other rays is that rays give birth to live young, whereas skate skates lay eggs. Many stingrays also have whip-like tails and stinging spines, which skates lack.

These fish use many methods to hunt. Some, such as the coffin ray, use powerful electric shocks to stun their prey, while others trap crustaceans or small fish on the sea floor. Their biology is poorly studied, but it’s thought that some skates and rays can live for 50 years or more. They vary dramatically in size and shape. The largest, the giant oceanic manta ray,ay, ca can span 7m across, while the smallest, the short-nosenose electri electric ray, is just 10cm wide.

All of the species he here were illustrated for the book Rays of

thee World (CSIRO Publishing,Publishing 2016). See page 109 for details.