Cownose Ray

A cownose ray typically has a brown back with a slightly white or yellow belly. Although its coloration is not particularly distinctive, its shape is easily recognizable. It has a broad head with wide-set eyes, and a pair of distinctive lobes on its subrostral fin. It also has a set of dental plates designed for crushing clam and oyster shells. Male rays often reach about 2.5 feet (0.76 m) in width, while females typically reach about 3.0 ft (0.9 m) in width. The cownose ray is sometimes mistaken for a shark by beach-goers due to the tips of the rays' fins sticking out of the water, often resembling the dorsal fin of a shark.

Cownose rays are migratory and social creatures and reside on the East Coast of the United States, Brazil, and the Gulf of Mexico. They prefer to live in near coastal waters and in estuarian ecosystems and are able to tolerate a wide range of salinities. The rays to have the potential to change habitats if one area gets too crowded and competition for resources is high. Cownose rays are known to be abundant in the Chesapeake Bay and migrate to the area for mating and nursery purposes, typically in the late spring and summer, typically spotted near the surface of waters.

The cownose ray, being high on the food chain, has few natural predators, including cobia, hammerhead sharks, and humans who fish for them.

The cownose ray exhibits a durophagous diet, meaning it feeds upon hard-shelled organisms, such as mollusks and crustaceans; they prefer scallops or clams, which have softer shells and are bivalves. This ray tends to feed either in the early morning or in the late afternoon, when the waves are calm and visibility is higher than during the day. Feeding occurs in the benthic zone or at the bottom of the ocean.

The rays are able to capture their prey through suction by opening and closing their jaws. Because of the type of prey cownose rays consume, their jaws need to be able to handle the hard-shelled organisms. Their jaws are extremely robust and have teeth with a hardness comparable to that of concrete. Their cephalic lobes also assist with capturing and handling their prey by pushing it towards their mouths.

Cownose rays breed from April through October. They do not reach maturity until they are roughly 70% of their maximum size. Females reach maturity between ages 7 and 8, while males reach maturity around ages 6–7. The lifespan of the cownose ray varies by sex; the oldest female ray that has been recorded was 21, and the oldest male ray was 18, both observed in the Chesapeake Bay.

Cownose rays are ovoviviparous, meaning that the embryo grows within its mother until it is ready to hatch. Rays have a longer gestation period due to their K-selected species attributes. The length of gestation is believed to last between 11 and 12 months, and at full term, the offspring are born live, exiting tail first.

The cownose ray is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List due to extensive overfishing and commercial fishing. The overfishing is due to the perception that rays destroy oyster beds meant for the shellfish industry.