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Range and Habitat: Bat Rays are found from the coast of Oregon to the Sea of Cortez. They are also found near the Galapagos Islands. Bat Rays can be found in sandy and muddy bays and estuaries, kelp forests and close to the coral reefs.
Description: Bat Rays have a flat body with a lobe-like snout head, large eyes and smooth skin. They have a very long whip-like tail, which is armed with a barb-like spine located just behind the body. Bat Rays have large bat like wings or pectoral fins. The wingspan of the female can reach 6 feet. The male’s wingspan is somewhat smaller. A female Bat Rays can weigh up to 200 pounds.
Habits and Adaptations: A Bat Ray uses its wing-like fins to move sand and find food. The Bat Ray uses its snout to dig food out from the bottom. The resulting trench can be up to 13 feet long and up to 8 inches deep. The teeth of a Bat Ray are flat, molar like teeth that are fused into plates. This allows the Bat Ray to crush even the strongest clam shell. The Bat Ray crushes the clam or mollusks in its mouth, spits out the shells and eats the animal. If the Bat Ray breaks a tooth, it just grows a new one. Bat Rays, like shark, replace teeth continuously. Bat Rays lead a solitary life but may be found in groups of up to a thousand. Bat Rays are able to jump out of the water or skim along the surface of the water.
Diet: Bat Rays feed on mollusks, crustaceans and small fish on the seabed. Clams are the mainstay of the Bat Rays’ diet.
Reproduction: Bat Rays are ovoviviparous. Mating takes place in spring and summer. The gestation is from 9 to 12 months. The litter size range from 2 to 10 pups. The pup will emerge with its pectoral fins wrapped around its body and its venomous spine flexible and covered with a sheath, which sloughs off within hours after birth. Gestation for Bat Rays is nine to twelve months. Females are larger than the males. The males have clasper fins which aid in breeding. Bat Rays live up to 23 years.
Miscellaneous: Bat Rays are preyed upon by sea lions, white sharks and fishermen. Sport fishermen love to catch Bat Rays, because they put up a good fight. Bat Rays are able to live in estuaries, which have a wide range of salinity.
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