CORTEZ ELECTRIC RAY

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 There is a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly outdated shark taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters.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

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

Habitat: Shallow sandy areas sometimes near reefs.

Abundance and distribution: Sea of Cortez where it is common, to

Panama

Behavior: Nocturnal. Rests on sand during the day moving into shallow bays at night to feed. Main diet consists of polychaete worms.

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous. Gravid females produce uterine milk that supplements the yolk sac of the developing embryo.

Observations: I observed this ray hopping forwards on its flexible ribbed pelvic fins.

Photographs: Mulege, Baja California, Mexico. Cabo Pulmo, Baja, Mexico.

Similar species: The lesser electric ray whilst not sharing a sympatric range is considered to be possibly the same species.

Reaction to divers: May be approached quite easily. If molested can shock but will more likely retreat.

Diving logistics: The Cortez electric ray is common in shallow water in sandy bays from at least central Baja southwards. It may be encountered whilst diving but is more likely to be spotted whilst snorkeling over sand or rubble bottoms. The photographed specimen was encountered in about 10 ft of water at dusk whilst snorkeling from the beach at Mulege. Cortez stingrays were also present.

Other diving locations submitted by readers:

References and 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.