Pfauenaugen-Stechrochen_-_Ocellate_river_s wikipedia stingray Stingrays & Skates part 2
Stingray city Newswise.com discountexcursions.com
Rays: Include the mantas with wingspans exceeding 8 meters (26 feet) Mantas feed on plankton like many other larger organisms in the ocean Eagle Ray
Eagle rays are Cartilaginous fish Live in open ocean rather than on sea bottom Feed on mollusks and crustaceans, crushing shells with flattened teeth Can breach the water several meters above the surface Longer tails than other rays Ovoviviparous, giving birth to 6 pups at once Range from 48 cm (19 in) to 9 m (30 ft) in length Wallpapersrus.com
Manta ray scientific classification Kingdom:AnimaliaAnimalia Phylum:ChordataChordata Class:ChondrichthyesChondrichthyes Subclass:ElasmobranchiiElasmobranchii Superorder:BatoideaBatoidea Order:MyliobatiformesMyliobatiformes Family:MyliobatidaeMyliobatidae Subfamily:MobulinaeMobulinae Genus:Manta upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Manta_birostris-Thailand4.jpg
Manta rays are large eagle rays Devil rays and manta rays are filter plankton feeders Swim with mouths open Have triangular pectoral fins, horn shaped cephalic fins] Found in temperate, and tropical waters Range in size from 5.5 m to 7 m or 18 to 23 feet M. Birostris migrates across open ocean single or in groups M. alfredi is resident and coastal Gestation is over 1 year, producing live pups Visit cleaning stations for removal of parasites
Guitarfish- Ray cousin
Ray vs Skate
Skate Anatomy
Skates type of "ray" that differ considerably from stingrays do not possess venomous barbs have sharp thorns located on dorsal surface and tails primarily live in marine habitats and rarely enter brackish or freshwater environments
Skate Classification Kingdom:AnimaliaAnimalia Phylum:ChordataChordata Class:ChondrichthyesChondrichthyes Subclass:ElasmobranchiiElasmobranchii Superorder:BatoideaBatoidea Order:RajiformesBerg, 1940RajiformesBerg, 1940 Family:Rajidae
Egg cases Prominent difference is that all stingrays give birth to live young while skates reproduce by laying eggs in leathery capsules sometimes called mermaid's purses A resource about skate and shark egg cases and tracking them. This is from the UK but a neat site to click around. Look for the anatomy of a case and how it’s put together.
Skate Dissection final-dissection-pre-class-materials/ final-dissection-pre-class-materials/ dissection photos from liverpool uk htm htm dissection details from center for marine biodiversity anatomy.html skate external anatomy diagrams…very good! anatomy.html Sharks and Skates: Skate Dissection from serc pic
Other Skate websites national geographic video includes stingray city 2 min stingray and spiny lobster 1.5 min amateur info in glossopedia and-rays/ and-rays/
Other skate websites this is a great place to start to learn about skates and rays. htm a good page to get some idea of what the dissection will look like. htm a nice National Geographic video about stingrays (2 minutes) this is a short video (2 min) of a Ray giving live birth (many lay eggs too, but not this one!)