Big Skate

Big Skate

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Chondrichthyes
Superorder : Batoidea
Order : Rajiformes
Family : Rajidae
Genus : Raja
Species : binoculata

Length : 6ft (1.8m)
Weight : 200lbs (81kg)

IUCN Status : Near Threatened

The appropriately named Big Skate is the largest of the North American skates, cartilaginous fish that belong to the superorder that also contains Rays. They can be found off the Pacific coast running from Alaska to California, at depths of up to 400ft (120m).

The Big Skate is very flat and pointy looking, with its nose and pectoral fins all coming to a tip. They also possess a thin tail that is just about as long as the body. They have two large patches on their back that resemble eyes and which are most likely used to confuse predators. The Big Skate's actual eyes on placed on top, but its mouth and gills are found on its underside, which is the perfect position for swimming around and sucking up fish and marine invertebrates.

Big Skates are egg-layers, and produce two very large capsules that can contain up to seven eggs each. It takes a full nine months for the eggs to hatch, and will take eight years for the males to become sexually mature, and up to thirteen for females!

Skates are often taken as bycatch. Their numbers have been affected by this incidental overfishing, and it doesn't help that they have a very slow growth rate, late sexual maturity, and low reproductive rates.

Giant Freshwater Stingray

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The Giant Freshwater Stingray (Himantura chaophraya) is a massive, massive fish found in the tropical river waters of South East Asia and Australia. They can grow to sizes of over 94in across (about 240cm) and the largest specimen caught weighed 1,322lbs (600kg). Even their young are huge! They are an ovoviviparous species whose offspring can measure 13in (34cm) at birth!

Giant Freshwater Stringrays are in fact dangerous to humans, but not because they eat them. These creatures actually feed on small fish and invertebrates. However, as their name might suggest, they have stinging barbs on their tails. These venomous, mucus covered barbs can grow to 15in (38cm) long, and with their whip-like tails, these Stingrays can pierce bone.

These enormous creatures are currently very vulnerable, and all populations are listed as at least that by the IUCN. The Thailand sub-population is Critically Endangered. They faces issues with habitat destruction, fishing, mine-caused silt deposits, and population fragmentation.

Manta Ray

Manta Rays (Manta birostris) are the largest of all rays, but worry not! They are harmless, graceful swimmers. Unlike some other ray species, that have no stingers. Mantas are very, very large, commonly measuring over 20ft wide. Some individuals can reach 30ft, and weigh over 3,000lbs. They are found in tropical and temperate near-coastal waters around the world.

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Did you know Manta Rays are closely related to sharks? And like their sharkish cousins the Basking and Whale Sharks, Mantas consume very tiny creatures. They have two fins on their head that almost resemble horns (perhaps a reason for their other common name, the Devil Ray) which suck in plankton and other small sea creatures. The prey is then filtered through gill rakes and consumed. Also like the aforementioned sharks, Manta Rays have tiny teeth which are unused.

Manta Rays mate belly to belly, and are ovoviviparous. Females give birth to only 1-2 pups at a time, which are already 4ft across when born. Their age of sexual maturity and overall lifespan is unknown.

Manta Rays are basically harmless to humans, but one should be careful around them due to their large size. They are currently listed as Near Threatened by IUCN.