Cownose Ray

These rays eat animals that live on the ocean floor, like shellfish, lobsters, crabs, and fish. They have special sensors called electroreceptors on their snouts that help them find food. To uncover prey, they move the sediment with their flexible "wings" (fins) or use their noses to dig in the mud or sand. Their teeth are positioned in flat plates, perfect for breaking hard shells. After eating, they spit out the shells and only swallow the soft parts of the animals.

At the Zoo, cownose rays eat a variety of fish.

Cownose rays are found in the western Atlantic Ocean from southern New England to northern Florida and throughout the Gulf of Mexico, migrating south to Uruguay.

These rays are considered an open ocean species but can inhabit coastal bays and estuaries. They prefer warm temperate and tropical waters to depths of 72 feet.

Natural predators include sharks and other large fishes.

The biggest threat for cownose rays is becoming bycatch (or being unintentionally caught) by commercial fishing operations. In some parts of their range, they are also hunted for food or because of misguided attempts to control their populations to increase shellfish recovery.

Cownose rays are named for the shape of their snout, which looks like a cow's nose. These rays have a shape similar to a kite and are usually brown to olive on top with a lighter underside. This coloring helps them blend in with their surroundings, making it harder for predators that hunt from below to spot them. Like sharks, their skin is covered in tiny, tooth-like structures called "placoid scales." These scales point towards their tails, which help reduce drag as they swim.

To swim, cownose rays flap their large pectoral fins like wings. Unlike fish, they don't have a swim bladder or an oil-filled liver to keep them buoyant, meaning that if they stop swimming, they will start to sink. Their flat bodies and wide fins allow them to glide smoothly through the water and rest on the ocean floor, which helps them save energy.

The tail of a stingray can be around twice as long as its body and has one or two barbs near the base. These barbs are serrated, covered in venomous mucus, and mainly used for protection. A stingray often loses its spine when it injures another creature. Loss of a barb usually results in growing a replacement within a short period.

ATTENTION: Similar to how we cut our fingernails, the rays at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium have their spines trimmed regularly, making them safe to touch.

Rays can detect the electrical fields of other animals, which helps them find their food hidden in the sand. They can sense small changes in water pressure made by prey like mussels and clams.

Stingrays breathe through openings called "spiracles" located behind their eyes, and their gills are located on their flat underside. Water enters through the spiracles and exits through the gills, leaving their mouths free for eating.

The breeding period for cownose rays is generally from June to October, and they give birth only once a year. Rays are ovoviviparous, meaning they produce eggs that develop and hatch within the mother's body.

The pups hatch live and are able to swim. They have an attached yolk sac providing nutrition, gradually diminishing over several months after birth. Typically, cownose rays give birth to one pup.

Cownose rays are equipped with receptor organs, called “ampullae of Lorenzini”, that can detect the electrical patterns created by other animals. This allows them to find prey and locate other rays around them. They can jump out of the water, landing with a loud smack, probably as a territorial display.

Cownose rays are unique because they rarely rest on the ocean floor. They have been known to jump out of the water and land on their bellies, creating loud smacking sounds as they hit the surface. These rays often travel in large schools, sometimes between 4,000 and 6,000 individuals. They are powerful swimmers and can swim long distances. Scientists think that changes in water temperature and the sun's position might help trigger their migrations.