True Facts: Rays, The Floppy Sombreros of the Sea

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Thank you:

Save Our Seas Foundation: https://saveourseas.com/
The Manta Trust: https://mantatrust.org/

Dr. Guy Stevens, Manta Trust
Jasmine Corbett, Manta Trust
Dr. Steve Huskey, Western Kentucky University
Dr. Christopher G. Lowe, Shark Lab, CSU Long Beach
Dr. J.D. Laurence-Chasen, NREL
Dr. Gabe Weymouth, TU Delft
Dr. Csilla Ari, University of South Florida
Dr. Scott Seamone, BAMSI
Dr Douglas Syme, University of Calgary
Dr. Mike McCallister, Florida Atlantic University
Dr. Michael Kuba, University of Naples Federico II
Dr. Diego Martín Vazquez, INALI
Dr. Iman Borazjani, Texas A&M
Dr. Laura K. Jordan, NIWA
Dr. Michel J. Kaiser, The Lyell Centre
Martina & James Wing, Manta Ray Advocates Hawaii
Brett Illingworth:    • Produce 18 Stingray eating spider cra...  
Virginia Sea Grant:    • Cownose rays shown using specialized ...  
Two Oceans Aquarium: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=323...
Pirates Dive Club:    • Electric Ray eating a fish  
AboveDeck on YT:    • Hammerhead shark almost beaches itsel...  
SCUBAZOO / Science Photo Library

Citations:

Bottom II RG, Borazjani I, Blevins EL, Lauder GV. Hydrodynamics of swimming in stingrays: numerical simulations and the role of the leading-edge vortex. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2016;788:407-443. doi:10.1017/jfm.2015.702

Dean MN, Bizzarro JJ, Clark B, Underwood CJ, Johanson Z. Large batoid fishes frequently consume stingrays despite skeletal damage. R Soc Open Sci. 2017 Sep 6;4(9):170674. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170674.

Divi, Raj V. et al. ,Manta rays feed using ricochet separation, a novel nonclogging filtration mechanism.Sci. Adv.4,eaat9533(2018).DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aat9533

Fontenelle, João Pedro & Carvalho, Marcelo. (2017). Systematic revision of the Potamotrygon scobina Garman, 1913 species-complex (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes: Potamotrygonidae), with the description of three new freshwater stingray species from Brazil and comments on their distribution and biogeography. Zootaxa. 4310. 1-63. 10.11646/zootaxa.4310.1.1.

Hughes, Ruth & Pedersen, Kristen & Huskey, Steve. (2018). The kinematics of envenomation by the yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis. Zoomorphology. 137. 10.1007/s00435-018-0404-0.

Jordan LK, Kajiura SM, Gordon MS. Functional consequences of structural differences in stingray sensory systems. Part II: electrosensory system. J Exp Biol. 2009 Oct 1;212(19):3044-50. doi: 10.1242/jeb.028738.

Kolmann MA, Welch KC Jr, Summers AP, Lovejoy NR. Always chew your food: freshwater stingrays use mastication to process tough insect prey. Proc Biol Sci. 2016 Sep 14;283(1838):20161392. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1392.

Laurence-Chasen JD, Ramsay JB, Brainerd EL. Shearing overbite and asymmetrical jaw motions facilitate food breakdown in a freshwater stingray, Potamotrygon motoro. J Exp Biol. 2019 Jul 10;222(Pt 13):jeb197681. doi: 10.1242/jeb.197681.

Loboda, Thiago & Lasso, Carlos & Rosa, Ricardo & Carvalho, Marcelo. (2021). Two new species of freshwater stingrays of the genus Paratrygon (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae) from the Orinoco basin, with comments on the taxonomy of Paratrygon aiereba. Neotropical Ichthyology. 19. 10.1590/1982-0224-2020-0083.

Lowe, C.G. The In Situ Feeding Behavior and Associated Electrical Organ Discharge of the Pacific Electric Ray, Torpedo californica. California State University Long Beach, 1991.

McCallister, Michael & Mandelman, John & Bonfil, Ramón & Danylchuk, Andy & Sales, Manuela & Ajemian, Matthew. (2020). First observation of mating behavior in three species of pelagic myliobatiform rays in the wild. Environmental Biology of Fishes. 103. 10.1007/s10641-019-00943-x.

Rasch LJ, Cooper RL, Underwood C, Dillard WA, Thiery AP, Fraser GJ. Development and regeneration of the crushing dentition in skates (Rajidae). Dev Biol. 2020 Oct 1;466(1-2):59-72. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2020.07.014.

Schaefer JT, Summers AP. Batoid wing skeletal structure: novel morphologies, mechanical implications, and phylogenetic patterns. J Morphol. 2005 Jun;264(3):298-313. doi: 10.1002/jmor.10331.

Seamone SG, Syme DA. The ocellate river stingray (Potamotrygon motoro) exploits vortices of sediment to bury into the substrate. J Fish Biol. 2021 Nov;99(5):1729-1734. doi: 10.1111/jfb.14833.

Tanaka Y, Funano S, Nishizawa Y, Kamamichi N, Nishinaka M, Kitamori T. An electric generator using living Torpedo electric organs controlled by fluid pressure-based alternative nervous systems. Sci Rep. 2016 May 31;6:25899. doi: 10.1038/srep25899.

Underwood CJ, Johanson Z, Welten M, Metscher B, Rasch LJ, Fraser GJ, Smith MM. Development and evolution of dentition pattern and tooth order in the skates and rays (batoidea; chondrichthyes). PLoS One. 2015 Apr 15;10(4):e0122553. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122553.