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Not just Shark Pictures: Elasmodiver contains photos of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaera's from around the world. It began as a simple web based field guide to help divers find the best places to encounter different species of sharks and rays but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project containing information on all aspects of shark diving and photography. There are now more than a thousand shark pictures  and sections on shark evolution, biology, and conservation. There is a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly outdated shark taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters. Elasmodiver is now so difficult to check for updates, that new information and pictures are listed on an Elasmodiver Updates Page that can be accessed here:

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Shark picture - green sawfish

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ELASMODIVER EXPANDED

If you're looking for a broader range of marine life pictures the following links represent a new area that contains pictures on other marine organisms and on marine habitats. This expansion of Elasmodiver is in its first stages but will eventually include pages on everything from sea stars to nudibranches. Creating this portal will take time and for now it consists of a token offering of fish pictures. Please return regularly to enjoy the progress.

 

FISH PICTURES

 

 

 

 

SOUTHERN BAT RAY

 

Photograph copyright Andy Murch all rights reserved

ENLARGED IMAGE

View all available Southern Bat Ray Pictures in the SHARKIVE

Common Names: Southern bat ray, Southern eagle ray.

Latin Name: Myliobatis australis

Family: Myliobatididae

Identification: Pectoral fins narrow and pointed. Subrostral lobe (beak) short and rounded. Dorsum brown with pale blue blotches.

Size: Wing span to 150cm.

Habitat: Bays, rocky and coral reef faces, and sand flats (where it feeds).

Abundance and distribution: New Zealand and Australia (from Queensland around the southern coast to W.A.)

Behavior: Often found resting in sand in excavated depressions. Forages in the sand for shelled mollusks and crabs but will take fish incidentally as shown by the bat rays at Hamelin Bay (See diving logistics).

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous.

Observations:

Photographs: Hamelin Bay, W.Australia.

Similar species: The New Zealand eagle ray (M.tenuicaudatus) is possibly the same species.

Reaction to divers: Usually difficult to approach except at Hamelin Bay. See Below.

Diving logistics: By far the best spot to see and photograph Southern bat rays is Hamelin Bay in W.Australia. Here the presence of scraps in the water has resulted in these and other ray species becoming desensitized to contact with humans. Waders and snorkellers are able to feed the rays right from shore. Noone appears to have been hurt in this activity and the rays that come in to take advantage of the snacks are able to be petted and hand fed. 

Other diving locations submitted by readers:

Further reading:

Reef Sharks and Rays of the World. Scott W. Michael. Sea Challengers.

Sharks and Rays - Elasmobranch Guide of the World. Ralf M. Hennemann. IKAN.  

 

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