The World of Deep Sea Rays and Skates

While sharks have become rulers of the open ocean, the skates and rays have conquered the seabed in their place, making up the superorder Batoidea. With their distinct shape, skates and rays have become highly efficient predators of life beneath the sediment. Different species make use of different strategies. Bottom-dwelling species such as skates are often ambush predators, burying themselves in the sediment and lying motionless before snapping up passing creatures. This behaviour also protects the rays from being spotted by predators. In contrast, eagle rays and cow nose rays gather in graceful schools. To hunt, they dig invertebrates from the sediment using their prominent snouts or by beating their wings. Manta rays are truly pelagic, spending their lives in the open ocean and feeding in a very different way

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