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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
electric
ray |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Chondrichthyes |
| ORDER: |
Torpediniformes |
| FAMILY: |
Torpedinidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
No
data |
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| SIZE: |
Atlantic
torpedo ray may be up to 1.82 m (6 ft.) in length |
| FEMALE |
In
general, female rays are larger than males. |
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| WEIGHT: |
Atlantic
torpedo ray may reach 90 kg (200 lb.) |
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| DIET: |
Depending
on the species, electric rays may eat fishes, worms,
and crustaceans. Adult Atlantic rays consume eels,
flounders, and small sharks. |
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| GESTATION: |
Ovoviviparous ("egg live birth"); Atlantic
torpedo rays have a 12 month gestation period. |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
Lesser
electric rays may bear only 2 pups at a time, while
Atlantic torpedo rays can deliver as many as 60
pups at a time. |
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| RANGE: |
Temperate
and tropical waters worldwide |
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| HABITAT: |
Primarily
benthic |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Electric
rays belong to the superorder Batoidea, which includes
stingrays, skates, guitarfishes, and sawfishes.
Like their relatives the sharks, batoids have skeletons
made of tough connective tissue called cartilage. |
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| 2. |
Atlantic torpedo rays (Torpedo nobiliana),
for example, live along the coastlines of Canada,
the United States, United Kingdom, and South Africa.
But they also have been found in the open ocean
at depths of approximately 450 m (1,475 ft.). Blind
electric rays (Typhlonarke aysoni) have been
discovered in waters as deep as 900 m (2,950 ft.). |
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| 3. |
The mouth of the Australian coffin ray (Hypnos
monopterygium) is enormous, allowing it to gulp
prey half the size of its body. |
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| 4. |
All
living creatures produce electricity - even humans
- but electric rays have two special kidney-shaped
organs that generate and store electricity like
a battery. Large Atlantic torpedo rays can generate
enough power to produce a shock of about 220 volts,
while smaller rays, like the lesser electric ray
(Narcine brasiliensis) can only muster
a shock of about 37 volts.
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| 5. |
Most
electric rays bury themselves under sand during
the day and come out at night to feed. If prey is
encountered, the ray will stun the creature with
electricity. Then, the ray will guide the food with
its pectoral fins to its mouth, which is located
under its body. |
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| 6. |
In
addition to stunning potential prey and dissuading
prospective predators, the electric organs of electric
rays may also be used to detect prey and to communicate
with each other. |
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| 7. |
For
more information about sharks & rays, explore
the sharks
& rays info book. |
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| Eschmeyer,
W.N., Herald, E.S. and H. Hammann. Peterson Field
Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes. New York. Houghton
Mifflin Co. 1983. |
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http://www.fishbase.org/ |
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