The Japanese eagle ray (''Myliobatis tobijei''), also known as the cowhead eagle ray or kite ray is a ray species in the family Myliobatidae.

Description

The Japanese eagle ray grows to be up to 150 centimeters long, and has a disc at least 114 centimeters wide. It is yellow-brown in color, and usually contains darker spots. It has rather long stinging spines, and its

claspers In biology, a clasper is a male anatomical structure found in some groups of animals, used in mating. Male cartilaginous fish have claspers formed from the posterior portion of their pelvic fin which serve to channel semen into the female's ...

are less than one-tenth the width of its disc. Each jaw of the species contains 7 rows of teeth.

Behavior

The Japanese eagle ray is

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

, usually inhabiting sea floors and feeding on

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

animals. In particular, it is known to eat

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s, fish, and sometimes benthic plants. Like all mylobatids, the species is

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

. Embryos initially feed on yolk. They later receive nourishment by indirectly absorbing uterine fluid from their mother. Little else is known about the biology of this species.

Distribution, threats, and conservation

The Japanese eagle ray lives in the waters of East Asia, particularly in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is also found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is a tropical marine species, and lives in depths of over 220 meters. The species is sometimes caught as a bycatch. It is also sometimes caught intentionally for its meat, as well as for its cartilage. Little else is known about its population and threats. There are currently no conservation measures taking place for this species, and it is listed as Vulnerable by

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Parasites

The Japanese eagle ray is the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

of the following

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

species: * '' Caulobothrium tobijei'' * '' Raphidascaroides myliobatum'' * '' Mawsonascaris myliobatum''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ray, eagle, Japanese Japanese eagle ray Marine fauna of East Asia Japanese eagle ray