---
title: Eagle ray (Myliobatidae)
scientific_name: Myliobatidae
common_name: Eagle ray
rank: Family
published: 2024-11-19T18:41:51.573Z
updated: 2026-08-03T20:54:49.167Z
tags: Eagle ray, Myliobatidae, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/rays/eagle-ray
---

# Eagle ray (*Myliobatidae*)

## Quick facts

- **Rank:** Family
- **Scientific name:** Myliobatidae
- **Body shape:** Flattened - Pressed flat top-to-bottom, lies on the bottom - rays, flounders, crocodilefishes.
- **Species listed here:** 2

## How to recognise this group

- flattened, kite or diamond-shaped body
- long, whip-like tail
- distinct head with a pointed or shovel-like snout
- dark upper body, white belly
- active swimmers, often cruising mid-water

Eagle rays are a family of large, active rays with flattened, kite-to-diamond-shaped discs, reaching up to 2.4 m (8 ft) in width. Dorsal surfaces are typically dark brown to blackish, sometimes marked with white spots or rings; the ventral surface is white. The head is distinct from the disc, featuring a pointed or shovel-like snout and large, prominent eyes set laterally, with spiracles located behind them. A long, whip-like tail trails behind the disc, usually bearing one or more venomous spines near its base. Their common name derives from their powerful, wing-like pectoral fins, which allow for graceful, sustained swimming.

These rays inhabit reef slopes, sandy flats, and lagoons, observed from shallow water down to at least 60 m (200 ft). They are active, often solitary swimmers, cruising in open water or over sandy bottoms with rhythmic strokes of their pectoral fins. Feeding primarily on benthic invertebrates, they use their robust snouts to dig bivalves, gastropods, and crustaceans from the substrate. Specialized dental plates then crush the shells of their prey.


## Species (2)

- [Ocellated Eagle Ray (Aetobatus ocellatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/rays/eagle-ray/ocellated-eagle-ray)
- [Ornate Eagle Ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/rays/eagle-ray/ornate-eagle-ray)

---

*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/rays/eagle-ray)*
*Updated: August 3, 2026*