Aetobatus ocellatus

Whitespotted eagle ray | Beaked Eagle Ray | Duckbill Eagle Ray | Flying Ray | Jumping Ray | Spotted Eagle Ray
Aetobatus ocellatus
Aetobatus ocellatus, NSW, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Aetobatus ocellatus
Aetobatus ocellatus, French Polynesia, Photo: Antonia Cooper
Aetobatus ocellatus
Aetobatus ocellatus, NSW, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
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Aetobatus ocellatus
Aetobatus ocellatus
Aetobatus ocellatus

Distribution

Tropical Eastern Pacific, Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Thick, square head, pointed wings and very long thin tail. Scattering of small pale blue spots on dark back. Formerly considered a circumglobal species Aetobatis narinari, although that species is restricted to the Atlantic. Occasionally in large schools.


Information

Max Size: 330 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 23.8-28.6°C

Depth: 1-100m

Habitat Generalization Index: 1.75

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Not Evaluated

Occurrence: Infrequent (2.1% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: extract from RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland