The Ray

Let me start by saying that sharks, skates, and ray are known as cartilaginous fish because their skeletons are made of cartilage.  You may be wondering what is cartilage.  Well cartilage is the rubbery substance which lines our joints and gives our ears and nose its shape.  Although cartilage is weaker than bone it is strong enough to support some of the largest animals in the ocean.


Cartilaginous fish have many things in common.  Their bodies are covered with rough, sand papery skin and stiff fins that do not fold.  Their jaws are powerful with countless biting or crushing teeth.  Most of these fish are predators, but the largest species are filter feeders.  There are about 600 species of cartilaginous fish living in the sea.  Some lay eggs but many give birth to live young.

What is a Ray? 

I thought this was interesting when I read it.  Did you know that another name for a Ray is a "flat shark"? I read that scientist believe that rays evolved from sharks.  There are more than 150 species of rays, most of which live in the sea. Rays have been around for a really long time, let's say about a 150 million years. They were around when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.  Rays have flattened bodies and wing like fins. They sort of  look like kites. Many live on the seabed camouflaged, but a few spend most of their lives near the surface, flapping through the sea like underwater birds. Unlike sharks, these fish crush their food with blunt teeth. Their mouths and gill openings are on the undersides of their bodies. They have breathing holes on their upper surfaces, just behind their eyes.


Rays are all carnivores. That means that they are meat eaters. They eat fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and worms. Rays mostly hunt on or near the bottom of the ocean. Some are filter feeders, filtering small prey like plankton, small fish, and small crustaceans as they swim. Some rays are also hunters who find prey on the ocean floor.

Now let's talk about defense.  The ray has a super deadly defense against predators.  Many have poisonous spines on their tail which can poison other animals when they are stung. Some rays have long, whip-like tails and others have short tails. Some rays even have thorns on their body to protect it against predators. Rays come in many colors and the colors are different among species and males and females.


Rays come in many different sizes.  They can be a few inches wide to over 23 feet wide. The Short-nose electric ray is the smallest ray and it is the size of a pancake. The biggest ray is the Manta ray and it is 22 feet wide and weighs many tons.

 
 This is the Short-Nose Electric ray.  It really looks like a pancake.

Rays live in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are found in both cold and temperate waters and live between 8 meters and 3000 meters below the surface of the ocean. Did you know that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between a skate and a ray because they look so much alike? They are sort of like identical twins, just very hard to tell them apart.

Can you tell which is the ray and which is the skate?  See, I told you that it is almost impossible to tell.

 

This is the Skate!                                                This is the Ray!

This is an interesting fact:  Rays were smarter than sharks and are very curious animals.

Differences Between Skates and Rays 

There are a few differences between skates and rays.  These are the major differences.

• The number one difference is size. Rays can grow to a very large size. For example the manta ray can reach a width of 22 feet and weigh several tons. However, skates range from 16 inches to 5 feet. It is sort of like King Kong and Jane.
• The second difference is defense.  Well defense is how they protect themselves.  Rays and skates defend themselves differently.  The ray tail has a stinging spine with venom, which it uses as a weapon against predators. However, the skates have large thorns on their backs and tails to defend itself against predators.
• The final big difference is how they make their young.  All skates lay eggs  however, rays give birth to live young.

My favorite cartilaginous fish is the Manta ray. Also, today I am going to talk about the Manta ray.  It has been very interesting learning about this gigantic sea creature.  I have learned a lot in doing research on the Manta Ray.  Man Ray has given me a picture of himself, for you to get an idea of what a Manta ray looks like. Thanks Man Ray.

                           But that is probably not good enough right, so here is an actual Manta Ray. 

The Manta ray looks like a bird soaring with its wings spread out wide.


The Manta ray has been a part of many legends about sea monsters, but they are totally harmless.  The fact that Manta rays are harmless, is the number one reason that I like it the best out of all the cartilaginous fish in the ocean.  The Manta ray has a wingspan of about 23 feet and it is the largest ray in the world.  Manta rays a huge.  Like many of the largest sea animals, it feeds on plankton.  It scoops up the plankton as it swims.  It has a fleshy paddle on each side of its head to help it funnel food into its mouth.


Check out this Manta ray swimming around and filter feeding.  Look at the open mouth.

Now it is time to talk about sharks and rays.  Sharks and rays are related and belong to the same class.  By just looking at them it is hard to see that they are related but they have a lot of similarities.

This is a shark.                                                 This is a ray.

Similarities and Differences Between Sharks and Rays 

Let's start with the similarities.

Similarities     

• Rays and sharks both have gills.
• Rays and sharks both have a skeleton made of cartilage.
• Rays and sharks both have fins.
• Rays and sharks have 5-7 gill slits on the sides of their heads and a mouth that usually opens downwards.
• They have specialized jaws and teeth for different types of feeding.
• Sharks and rays reproduce by laying eggs or live births.  

Differences

• Rays are shark do not have the same physical appearance. What I am trying to say is that they look different.
• Most sharks have long slender bodies but rays have flattened bodies.
• Sharks use their pectoral fins to lift and steer. However, rays use their pectoral fins to swim.
• Sharks swim by sweeping their tails from side to side. Rays use their tail for balance or steering.
• Many ray tails have a sharp barb for protection but shark’s tails do not.
• Sharks' gill openings are on their sides but rays' gill openings are found on the underside of their head.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and learned just as much as I did about Sharks, Rays and Skate. Come back to visit my blog.  Hasta la vista!