#fiddler ray

Fiddler rays!

The Fiddler Ray and their relatives are thought to be the oldest ray group, which explains why they are somewhere between a shark and a ray. It is understood that rays evolved from sharks and so really the Fiddler Ray is a visual demonstration of that change in biology, The earliest known fossil rays are only 150 million years ago and whilst there are very few well preserved fossils available there are whole bodies of ancient guitarfishes which very closely resemble that of modern day Fiddler Rays.

マクセル品川でもっとよくみた〜〜〜いと思ったサウザンフィドラーレイさんが2尾も!!!!

イケ散らかしてる…

AKA banjo shark, fiddler ray, green skate, magpie fiddler ray, and parrit.

The two fiddler rays are Australian endemics in the Rhinobatidae family (guitarfishes and shovelnose rays), with anatomical features from both sharks and true skates. The head and the pectoral fins are fused into a flat, rounded body, similar to the related shovelnose rays. Unlike the better-known stinrays, they lack a venomous spine in the tail, but do have a row of thorn-like denticles along their back.  

They are opportunistic bottom feeders eating a wide variety of fish and invertebrates.

Female southern fiddler rays grow to almost twice the size of the males, 150cm vs. 90cm, and can delay the development of embryos until the young can be born when food is plentiful and ocean temperatures are high and conducive to rapid growth. They birth 4 to 6 young per breeding cycle, after a gestation of 4 to 5 months.

I have always loved the fiddler ray. The placid ray with no barb always seems to swim with a relaxed grace, using their tail like a shark or fish, rather than undulating their sides.