Rays and similar species

• Rays, mantas and stingrays belong to the Batoidei and the main feature that distinguishes them from the sharks is their dorsoventrally flattened body and very wide, wing-like pectoral fins, which they use to swim.
  • Their branchial openings are located on the underside of the body. Some species of ray have a sting in the tail with which they can inflict painful wounds. The most dangerous species to be found in saline seawater is the chupare stingray (Himantura schmardae).
  • The mantas or manta rays can reach giant proportions, widths of up to 6 m and weighing up to 1,000 kg. Sometimes they take spectacular leaps out of the water. They do not have a sting and feed on small fishes. They are extraordinarily vital and strong. In Venezuela, they can often be seen off the islands of Isla Blanca and Los Hermanos and even near the mainland between Margarita Island and the coasts of Anzoátegui.
  • All the species are edible and are caught using tackle such as drift nets and setlines. The stingray is particularly valued for its excellent meat. It is usually salted and then marketed.
• There is a specially designed showcase containing the jaws of eleven species of large shark found along Venezuela's coasts, some of them fairly common. There are the very large jaws of the tiger shark. Its triangular teeth make it easy to distinguish from the jaw of the bonito shark, which has long, sharp teeth. There are also jaws of the lemon shark (Negrapion brevirostris), the black-tipped shark (Carcharhinus limbatus), nure sharks, and others.
• Next to the showcase is a sharktooth fossil that belonged to a Carcharodon megalodon and that is almost 10 cm long.

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