An Informal Field Guilde to
Rays and Flat Fish Seen on the Bottom

Newby Diver "Dude, we saw three of the hugest stingrays! It was so cool. They were like six feet across!"
Old Timer "Six feet across? Those weren't stingrays."
Nearly Newby Diver "No, man, those weren't stingrays. They were butterfly rays!"
Old Timer "Six foot butterfly rays? Wow. Were they like this thick?" [holding thumb and forefinger a half inch apart]
Nearly Newby Diver "No, they were much thicker."
Old Timer "Did they have really distinctive faces? And were they about this thick?" [holding hands 8 -12 inches apart]
Nearly Newby Diver "Yeah, that's it!"
Old Timer "Those were bat rays."

The above was an actual conversation at La Jolla Shores.

I remember quite clearly, when I first learned to dive and had no clue what anything out in the ocean was, swimming a VERY wide path around a 7 foot halibut, thinking that it was the world's biggest stingray and that it might attack me. All I knew was that there were these flat things out there which could hurt me, and here was a really big flat thing...

 

Round Stingray

Species page located here

Body round and generally about 12 inches across
Tail shorter than body
Generally found in shallow water very close to shore, but occasionally deeper
Venomous barb near end of tail
If "stung", immerse foot in water as hot as you can stand for 20-30 minutes
and treat the wound as a puncture wound (see a doctor).

© Tracy Clark

 

Thornback Ray

Species page located here

Generally 1-2 feet long
Front end rounded
Tail longer and thicker than a stingray's
with rows of spines and three top fins (two dorsal plus one tail fin)
Generally seen in shallow water (0-50 feet)
Not venomous.

© Debbie Anderson

 

Shovelnose Guitarfish (or Shovelnose Shark)

Species page located here

Generally 2-4 feet long, can get up to 5 or 6 feet
Arrow-shaped with pointy body and thick tail with three top fins (two dorsal plus one tail fin)
Not seen as commonly as thornback rays
Larger and pointier than thornback rays
Generally seen in shallow water (0-70 feet)

© 2001 Paul Hughes

 

Banded Guitarfish

Species page located here

Generally 2-3 feet long
Similar to shovelnose sharks, but a little shorter,
body a little wider, front end a little less pointy,
and with spots or bars of black
Generally seen in shallow water (0-70 feet)

© 2000 Rafael Bejar

 

Bat Ray

Species page located here

Thick.
Bat rays have very thick bodies and very distinctive faces
When they swim, it looks like a giant bird slowly flapping its wings
Body is thick and can be up to 6 feet across
Tail thin, rod-like, and very straight
Bat rays dig in the sand and create huge "dust clouds"
Seen pretty much everywhere we go (when they're in town).

© 1999 Garry McCarthy

 

© 2001 Paul Hughes

 

Pacific Electric Ray (or Torpedo Ray)

Species page located here

Fearless - or at least completely unconcerned about your presence
Best to get out of the way of these guys, as they can shock you.
2 - 4 feet in length with a large horizonal round body
and a large vertical tail
(the fact that the body and tail are at right angles to each other
is a distinguishing characteristic)
Generally seen in deeper water around here

© 2000 Paul Foretic

 

Butterfly Ray

Species page located here

Thin.
Very thin, wider than long, with very short tail
Slightly pointed at the front end and wingtips
Up to several feet across
Generally seen - or not seen - entirely buried in the sand
In shallow water (0-20 feet)

© 2000 Rafael Bejar

 

Halibut (California and Pacific)

Species page located here

Not a bit like the rays above, unless you're a really new diver...
Halibut are a large, meaty fish that kind of look like they're laying on their side
Eyes protrude up and watch you
Up to about 8 feet long
Seen in deeper water (30 feet to very deep)

© 2000 Rafael Bejar

 

Close-up of the face
© 2000 Paul Foretic

 

Finally, the view you'll usually have of a halibut!
© John H. Moore

 

Sole / Turbot / Flounder

Field ID Page located here

Small, flat fish - like the halibut only much smaller
Several common local species
Generally 6 - 18 inches
Eyes protrude up, pectoral fin often pointed up
Found in shallow to very deep water

C-O Sole (Pleuronichthys coenosus)
© 2001 Paul Foretic

 

Hornyhead Turbot (Pleuronichthys verticalis)
© John R. Hyde

 

Speckled Sanddab

Species page located here

Small.
Again, like halibut or sole, but even smaller
3 - 6 inches in length
Dart around in fast, abrupt movements
Found in middle depths (30-80 feet)
Camouflage very well

© Garry McCarthy