The Bat Ray is an eagle ray found in muddy or sandy sloughs, estuaries and bays, kelp beds and rocky-bottomed shoreline in the eastern Pacific Ocean, between the Oregon coast and the Gulf of California. It is also found in the area around the Galápagos Islands.
The Bat Ray also uses its lobelike snout to dig prey from sandy bottoms. The resulting pit can be up to 13 feet (4 m) long and eight inches (20.3 cm) deep — uncovering small prey for fishes that can’t dig. A Bat Ray has one to three venomous barbed spines at the base of its long tail, where the tail meets the body. But this docile animal only stings to defend itself.
Bat Ray teeth are fused into plates that can crush the strongest clam shells. The ray crushes the entire clam (or other molluscs) inside its mouth, spits out the shells and then eats the soft, fleshy parts. If a tooth breaks or wears out, a new one replaces it. A ray grows new teeth continuously, like its shark kin.