libutron:Bat Ray | ©divindk (Channel Islands National Park, California, US)Myliobatis californica
libutron:Bat Ray | ©divindk (Channel Islands National Park, California, US)Myliobatis californica (Myliobatidae), better known as Bat Ray or Bat Eagle Ray, is commonly found in sandy and muddy bays and sloughs, also on rocky bottom and in kelp beds, along the coastal waters of the eastern Pacific, from central Oregon in the US to the Gulf of California in Mexico, and in the Galapagos Islands [1]. Bat rays are commonly distinguished from other rays because of their distinct, protruding head and large eyes. They have a flat body with a dorsal fin at the base of the tail. The tail is whiplike and can be as long or longer than the width of the body. It is armed with a barbed stinger that is venomous. Bat rays are named for their two long pectoral fins that are shaped like the wings of a bat [2].Like other ray species, bat rays appear to migrate from inshore waters during the colder months of the year, and return to the same localities year after year [3]. -- source link