BAT RAY

The Bat Ray is a type of eagle ray, which have long tails and tightly-packed rows of flattened teeth that form crushing plates.

Bat Rays feed on mollusks, crustaceans and small fish on the seabed. They use their winglike pectoral fins to move sand and expose prey animals.

The plate-like teeth of Bat Rays are used to grind the shells of their prey. After extracting the fleshy food, the rays spit out inedible shell bits.

Oyster growers historically trapped Bat Rays, believing them to be visiting estuaries to prey on their oysters. Bat Rays rarely eat oysters, but they do like crabs, which were the real cause of the oyster bed destruction!

LEAST CONCERN (LC):
Less likely to become endangered anytime soon.