Caribbean Electric Ray
Narcine bancroftii
Coffin Ray
Hypnos monopterygius
About
The coffin ray is an odd, pear-shaped ray that spends most of the day hidden under sand. It can grow to 70 cm and carries a hidden weapon: two electric organs strong enough to stun its prey.
Also known as: short-tail electric ray, large numbfish, torpedo, numbie, numbfish, numb-fish, electric ray, cramp-fish, australian numbfish, crampfish, short-tailed electric ray, numb ray
- Length
- 40 cm · max 70 cm
- Depth
- up to 240 m
How to tell it apart
No other ray sharing its habitat has this rounded, tail-less body shape described above, so the outline alone confirms it.
Appearance
Its body forms a soft, rounded disc, thick in the middle and thin at the edges, with a very short tail. Two kidney-shaped electric organs bulge on either side of the head, just behind the small eyes. Colour ranges from dark or reddish brown to grey, pink or yellow above, with a pale underside.
Habitat
Coffin rays live close to shore over sandy or muddy bottoms, including beaches, estuaries and bays, and are sometimes seen over seagrass or near rocky and coral reefs.
Behaviour
This ray is a slow, weak swimmer that moves with a jerky, fluttery motion. It spends most of the day buried in sediment with only its spiracles, the breathing openings behind its eyes, showing. It hunts by ambush, using its electric organs to stun prey before swallowing it whole. If disturbed, it can burst up from the bottom and swim in a loop with its mouth wide open.
Did you know?
The coffin ray can deliver up to 200 volts and fire off 50 shocks in ten minutes, each one weaker than the last.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
