The cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus is a species of Batoidea found throughout a large part of the western Atlantic and Caribbean , from New England to southern Brazil the East Atlantic populations are now generally considered a separate species, the Lusitanian cownose ray R. Cownose rays prefer to live in shallower, coastal waters or estuaries.
Rays have a distinct shape, and it has two lobes at the front of its head, resembling a cow nose. Cownose rays can live between 16 and 21 years, depending on sex. The genus name Rhinoptera is named for the Ancient Greek words for nose rhinos and wing pteron.
The species name bonasus comes from the Ancient Greek for bison bonasos. A cownose ray is typically brown-backed 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 clams and oyster shells.
Male rays often reach about 2. When threatened the cownose ray can use the barb at the base of its tail to defend itself from the threat. This spine has teeth lining its lateral edges, and is coated with a weak venom that causes symptoms similar to that of a bee sting. Cownose rays are migratory and social creatures and reside on the east coast of the United States, Brazil , as well as in the Gulf of Mexico.
The cownose ray exhibits a durophagous diet, meaning it feeds upon hard-shelled organisms, such as mollusks , crustaceans , but they prefer scallops or clams , which have softer shells and are categorized as bivalves.
