Spotted eagle ray

Aetobatus narinari

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Endangered

Usual depth5–24 m
Water temperature15–30 °C
Best monthsJanuary, March, and April
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Robbie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The spotted eagle ray is a cartilaginous fish of the eagle ray family, Aetobatidae. As traditionally recognized, it is found globally in tropical regions, including the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Recent authorities have restricted it to the Atlantic with other populations recognized as the ocellated eagle ray and Pacific white-spotted eagle ray. Spotted eagle rays are most commonly seen alone, but occasionally swim in groups. They are ovoviviparous, the female retaining the eggs then releasing the young as miniature versions of the parent.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Spotted eagle ray”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 350 records
February: 312 records
March: 450 records
April: 317 records
May: 271 records
June: 276 records
July: 264 records
August: 274 records
September: 238 records
October: 219 records
November: 154 records
December: 250 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–24 m · Deepest record: 60 m

0–10 m: 161 records
10–20 m: 288 records
20–30 m: 137 records
30–40 m: 4 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–30 °C

14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 18 records
24–26 °C: 24 records
26–28 °C: 106 records
28–30 °C: 64 records

Photos

(c) Steven Wang, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) John Burnett, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Susan Aide, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Isaac Chacón, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Robin White, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Spotted eagle ray, Whip moray, bonnetray, Maylan, spotted eagle ray, Spotted whipray, whip moray, White-spotted eagle ray, Whitespotted Eagle Ray

Names in 6 more languages

German: Adlerrochen, Gefleckter Adlerrochen
Spanish: Chucho, chucho pintado, manta águila, obispo, Raya águila, Raya Águila Leopardo, Raya jaspeada, Raya pinta
French: Aigle de mer-léopard, Aigle de mer tacheté, Raie léopard, Raie noire, Raie aigle, Raie léopard, Aigle de mer léopard, Raie léopard
Japanese: マダラトビエイ
Thai: ปลากระเบนนกจุดขาว, ปลากระเบนยี่สน
Simplified Chinese: 烏燕仔魴, 燕仔魟, 納氏鷂鱝, 纳氏鹞鲼, 花燕子, 雪花鴨嘴燕魟, 魴仔

Other scientific names: Aetobates narinari, Aetobatis latirostris, Aetobatis narinari, Raja narinari, Stoasodon narinari

Similar species

Ocellated Eagle Ray
Aetobatus ocellatus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,263 open-data records from 1790 to 2025.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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