A dark ray covered in white spots, with a long, duck-bill snout and a whip-like tail far longer than its body. It glides over sand and reefs alone or in groups, and only in the last few years has it been recognized as its own Pacific species.
Bluish black on top with many white spots, sometimes ring-shaped, and mostly white below. The head stands apart from the wings and ends in a moderately long, fleshy, rounded snout, like a duck’s bill, with large spiracles visible from above. The disc is short and very broad, with pointed wings that are only slightly curved. The tail is long and whip-like, with a small dorsal fin at its base and one or more venomous stings behind it.
Pacific spotted eagle rays live from the Pacific coast of southern Baja California Sur and the Gulf of California to Peru, including the Galápagos and Malpelo. They use coastal bays and estuaries as well as offshore water, swimming alone or in large schools, and feed mainly on clams and other bivalves, plus shrimp, worms and fish. Most are under 1.3 m across. In Mexico they have been recorded in commercial catches from the greater Los Cabos area.
Little is known about their life: FishBase notes that size at birth and at maturity are still unknown. A study at Los Arcos, in Banderas Bay, found rays 50 to 130 cm across, sightings peaked in April and May, and none were seen in the warmest months (July to September) or the coldest (February); juveniles and adults both moved in groups, and the busiest ray area overlapped with the busiest tourist area.
For more than a century eastern Pacific eagle rays were treated as the Atlantic spotted eagle ray. A 2019 genetic study found that Aetobatus narinari lives only in the western Atlantic and assigned the Pacific rays to Aetobatus laticeps.
Source ↗Theodore Gill described the species in 1865 from a single specimen sent from San Francisco, noting a tail four or five times as long as the body.
Source ↗Each jaw has a single row of flat, plate-like teeth, chevron-shaped in the lower jaw, for crushing shellfish.
Source ↗At Los Arcos, Banderas Bay, eagle ray sightings peaked in April and May and dropped to zero in the warmest and coldest months.
Source ↗Reef Life Survey divers find it at about 27% of the reef sites they survey within its range, usually one ray at a time.
Source ↗The Pacific spotted eagle ray isn’t a sport fish. In Los Cabos it’s mostly a snorkel and dive sighting over sand and around reefs, or a dark, spotted shape seen from the boat in clear water. Local commercial fishermen have landed them.
If one is hooked by accident, keep it in the water and stay away from the tail: the stings at its base can cause a very painful wound. Cut the leader close to the hook. Sport fishing for rays isn’t allowed during the Pacific ray closed season, May 1 to July 31.
| Daily limit (NOM-017-PESC-1994) | Max 10 fish per angler per day, no more than 5 of one species |
|---|---|
| Closed season (Pacific) | All rays, May 1 – July 31; no ray fishing during the closure |
| Mexico (NOM-059) | Not listed |
| IUCN Red List | Vulnerable (2019) |
| Cabo Pulmo National Park | Sport fishing not allowed |
Its tail stings are venomous: keep clear of the tail when releasing one.
The golden cownose ray is plain golden brown with no spots and a square, notched head. The bat ray (Myliobatis californicus) is olive to dark brown or black without white spots, with a blunt, rounded, raised head. Munk’s and spinetail devil rays have no spots, carry head fins that roll into horns and live in open water. The Atlantic spotted eagle ray looks almost identical but doesn’t occur in the Pacific.
No. They look almost the same, but a 2019 genetic study showed the Atlantic spotted eagle ray lives only in the western Atlantic; the eastern Pacific rays are Aetobatus laticeps.
Not to swimmers who leave them alone. They feed on shellfish, but the tail carries venomous stings, so never grab or corner one.
Snorkeling or diving over sand and around reefs, or from a boat in clear, shallow water. They swim alone or in groups.
Top illustration: Top Anglers. Photos: iNaturalist contributors, credited on each photo.
Pangas and small boats that work the beaches, points and rocky reefs. From $698 with license included.
