Hiding in the sand all day may not seem like the best way to hunt for prey, but it works great for electric rays. As their name implies, these sea creatures can generate a strong electric charge around their bodies, and use it to stun and even kill nearby prey. These high-voltage fish can even harm humans.
Bug Eyes: Electric rays spend a lot of time in the sand, waiting for prey to ambush. Their eyes protrude above their flat bodies so the ray can bury its body completely to hide from potential prey but still see clearly with its eyes poking above the seabed.
Cool Skin: These rays come in many different colors and patterns. Most are light-colored, like sand, and many have markings from spots to stripes and swirls on top of their bodies, which have earned them names such as "marble ray" and "panther ray".
Like stingrays, electric rays swim by "flapping" their wing-like side fins.
Electric rays got their name from their ability to generate electric currents in their bodies. Two columns on their bellies each contain anywhere from 150 to 1,000 jelly-filled organs called electrolytes, which the animals use to create a charge of up to 220 volts. This charge is more than enough to stun other sea creatures, and the electric rays can send the charge outward up to six inches from their bodies. The rays also use their charges to ward off enemies, even those as large as the Giant Octopus.
Shock Tactic: Electric rays can stun mollusks and crustaceans from up to 6 inches away, but have to touch larger victims, such as fish. The ray swims above its target, then folds its side fins down to engulf its swimming prey.
Tail Flap: Most rays have a long, thin tail than ends in a point, but the electric ray has a stubby tail with a fin on the end. If in serious danger, the ray can flap its tail along with its side fins to swim away with a burst of speed.
Watch Your Step...[]
A beach-goer who is ready to have some fun in the ocean slowly wades into the water. The water is clear enough to see the seabed below, but an electric ray has camouflaged itself so well that the woman steps right onto it, spooking the fish into setting off an electric charge.
The woman is so stunned for a moment that she can't move, so the electric ray keeps sending out its charge. The ray finally wriggles away from beneath the woman's foot and swims away, leaving the woman stunned and paralyzed in the shallow water.
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
The knowledge card is titled Electric Rays, while the trading card is titled Electric Ray.
