174 UNDERWATER GUIDE TO MARINE LIFE 



large school in an oyster bed can very well spell the end of almost the entire 

 bed. Large rays are able to crack thick-shelled molluscs, an indication of the 

 immense power of their jaws. But the jaws are delicate as well as powerful since 

 the meat of the molluscs is separated from the shell so skillfully that very little 

 shell is swallowed. These are powerful swimmers and are known to leap from 

 the water. One specimen only a little over 5 feet across was easily able to drag 

 a 22-foot boat containing three men. They are known to emit a harsh cough 

 when captured. The young are released into the air one at a time by the mother 

 as she leaps out of the water, a spectacular method of childbirth which is seldom 

 observed. 



Similar S'pecies: The eagle ray, Myliohatus freyninvillei, is smaller than the 

 spotted eagle ray, reaching 5 feet across, and maturing at 2 to 3 feet across. There 

 are no spots, and the snout is not like a duck's bill. It strays to Cape Cod in 

 summer, but lives the year round in the Caribbean. 



The bat sting ray, Myliohatis californiciis, is very similar to the eagle ray 

 and is common inshore in bays from Oregon to Magdalena Bay. 



COW-NOSED ray: Kliinoftera qiiadriloha 



Size: Averages 3 feet across. Up to a width of 7 feet. 



Weight: Averages 25 to 70 pounds. 



Distribution: New England. Less common in tropical than in warm temperate 

 zones of both hemispheres. 



Identification: The peculiar bilobed nose is distinctive. The color is a yellowish 

 brown. 



Habits: This is the commonest of the eagle rays. Like the rest of them, it is a 

 mollusc-eater. A school of these rays rooting about in clam or oyster beds is 

 reminiscent of a drove of hogs. It is commonest in shoal water and may leap 

 from the surface. The young are produced in spring and summer. Little is 

 known of their habits in spite of their reasonable plentifulness. Cow-nosed rays 

 have the disturbing habit of "rounding" a swimmer, but in doing so have no 

 aggressive intentions. 



DEVILFISHES: Family Mobulidae 



These rays have completely abandoned the bottom-living habit and do not 

 even feed there. Thus, the eyes are on the side of the head, and the spiracles 

 are so reduced that respiration is sharklike, most water entering the gills through 

 the mouth. Devilfishes are easily identified by the large cephalic fins that look 

 like devil's horns on either side of the mouth. These are used to funnel and 

 scoop plankton and small fishes into the ray's mouth. A gill sieve filters the food 

 from the water much as in the whale and basking sharks. There are no poisonous 

 tail spines, but the great size and famed power of these fishes should be 

 enough to caution the unwary. Contrary to rumor, these are inoffensive fishes 

 showing little fear of man. Rarely are we treated to a sane view of the manta, 

 for instance. Magazines and movies would rather show them gushing blood 

 from harpoon wounds or making alleged attacks on swimmers. If molested, 

 however, one can hardly blame them for fighting back. The pectoral fins are 

 used to deliver repeated sledge-hammerlike blows. Devilfishes are ovoviviparous 

 and found in all temperate and tropical seas. 



