Cownose ray | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Chondrichthyes |
Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
Order: | Myliobatiformes |
Family: | Rhinopteridae |
Genus: | Rhinoptera |
Species: | R. bonasus
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Binomial name | |
Rhinoptera bonasus (Mitchill, 1815)
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The cownose ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) is a species of Batoidea found throughout a large part of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England to southern Brazil (the East Atlantic populations are now generally considered a separate species, the Lusitanian cownose ray (R. marginata)).[2] These rays also belong to the order Myliobatiformes, a group that is shared by bat rays, manta rays, and eagle rays.[3]
Cownose rays prefer to live in shallower, coastal waters or estuaries.[2] Size, lifespan, and maturity differ between male and female rays. Rays have a distinct shape, and it has two lobes at the front of its head, resembling a cow nose. Cownose rays can live between 16 and 21 years, depending on sex.[4] Rays feed upon organisms with harder shells, such as clams, crustaceans, or mollusks.[2] They are migratory creatures, where they migrate South in the winter and North in the summer.[4] The rays are known to occupy the Chesapeake Bay in the summer months.
In 2019, the species was listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.[1] The species has been subjected to overfishing due to the perceived threat of overpopulation in the Chesapeake Bay.[5] There are not many conservation strategies or efforts for cownose rays.