Cownose Stingray
Rhinoptera bonasus
Fun Facts About the Cownose Stingray
Cownose stingrays, like many rays, have a large barb that is used for defense.
The largest cownose stingray on record was 7-ft from wing tip to wing tip!
Cownose stingrays are preyed upon by large fish, like cobia, and sharks.
Where Do Cownose Stingrays Live?
Cownose rays are found throughout the Atlantic Ocean! They can be found along the eastern coast of North and South America and the western coast of Africa.
They spend time in the wide-open ocean, but they are most commonly found in warm, tropical waters, like the Caribbean Sea!
What Do Cownose Stingrays Eat?
Like most stingrays, cownose stingrays are known to be “bottom-dwellers,” meaning they like to eat along the bottom of shallow waters. Their mouth is located on the underside of their body and is made of hard, boney plates that can crush food. This makes them perfectly designed to eat animals that have hard shells, like crabs, oysters, and lobster! They will also feed on bottom-dwelling fish.
What Do Cownose Stingrays Look Like?
Cownose stingrays are medium-sized eagle rays. Females grow larger than males, weighing up to 50-lbs! Their mouth and gills are located on the underside of their bodies while their eyes and spiracles are on top of their heads.
They are named for their cow-like snout! Like other eagle rays, they have large, pointed wings that make them great swimmers. Cownose rays are sometimes mistaken for a shark when their large fins stick out from the surface of the water! They also have a very long tail with a sharp barb near the base.
Cownose Ray Adaptations
Spiracles
Spiracles are the small holes located on the top of a cownose stingray's head that pump water through the stingray's gills and allow them to breathe even when they are not moving! These are often mistaken for their eyes or ears. Many species of sharks also have spiracles.
Barb
Cownose stingrays have a barb located near the base of their tail. It is used for defense, not for hunting, and is covered in a thin layer of skin-like material that contains venom. It has serrated edges, making it very challenging to get out once it has been stuck into something. The barb will break off when used and can take several months to regrow.
Mouth
The mouth of a cownose ray is located on the underside of its bodies near its gills. The mouth is made of hard "dental plates," which can easily crush animals like crabs and oysters. Stingrays will lose and regrow sections of their dental plates!
Cownose Rays Have a Social Life
Cownose rays are sometimes observed alone but are also seen in large groups! They will migrate throughout the Atlantic ocean, sometimes in groups with thousands of other rays. Their social groups do not have a pecking order and rays are allowed to move between groups. A group of stingrays is called a fever!
What Animals Are Closely Related to Cownose Stingrays?
Cownose rays are a type of eagle ray, making them closely related to manta rays and bat rays. All stingrays are also closely related to sharks and share many common characteristics with them! Sharks and rays both have a skeleton made of cartilage and their skin is made of "dermal-denticles," which are teeth-like scales!
Do Cownose Stingrays Lay Eggs?
Cownose stingrays do not lay eggs. Instead, they have live babies that look like tiny versions of the adults! Cownose rays are considered ovoviviparous, meaning the babies develop inside an egg casing and hatch within the female. Because the egg hatches inside of the female, a live baby is delivered at the end of their 11-month long gestation. Cownose rays usually have a single offspring at a time and have one baby per year.
Are Cownose Stingrays Endangered?
IUCN Rating: Near Threatened
Humans are the biggest threat to cownose rays, especially fishermen. Fishermen frequently set up traps and nets to catch lobster, crabs, and fish that can accidentally catch stingrays. Cownose rays have no way to escape the traps, which often leads to their death.
You can help protect cownose rays by purchasing sustainably harvested seafood, like seafood certified by the Seafood Watch program. We can reduce our plastic use which can enter stingray habitat and degrade their habitat!
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