What is "eagle ray"

Eagle \Ea"gle\, n. [OE. egle, F. aigle, fr. L. aquila; prob. named from its color, fr. aquilus dark-colored, brown; cf. Lith. aklas blind. Cf. Aquiline.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any large, rapacious bird of the Falcon family, esp. of the genera Aquila and Hali[ae]etus. The eagle is remarkable for strength, size, graceful figure, keenness of vision, and extraordinary flight. The most noted species are the golden eagle ( Aquila chrysa["e]tus); the imperial eagle of Europe ( Aquila mogilnik or Aquila imperialis); the American bald eagle ( Hali[ae]etus leucocephalus); the European sea eagle ( Hali[ae]etus albicilla); and the great harpy eagle ( Thrasaetus harpyia). The figure of the eagle, as the king of birds, is commonly used as an heraldic emblem, and also for standards and emblematic devices. See Bald eagle, Harpy, and Golden eagle.

2. A gold coin of the United States, of the value of ten dollars.

3. (Astron.) A northern constellation, containing Altair, a star of the first magnitude. See Aquila.

4. The figure of an eagle borne as an emblem on the standard of the ancient Romans, or so used upon the seal or standard of any people.

   Though the Roman eagle shadow thee.
   --Tennyson.

   Note: Some modern nations, as the United States, and France under the Bonapartes, have adopted the eagle as their national emblem. Russia, Austria, and Prussia have for an emblem a double-headed eagle.

   Bald eagle. See Bald eagle.

   Bold eagle. See under Bold.

   Double eagle, a gold coin of the United States worth twenty dollars.

   Eagle hawk (Zo["o]l.), a large, crested, South American hawk of the genus Morphnus.

   Eagle owl (Zo["o]l.), any large owl of the genus Bubo, and allied genera; as the American great horned owl ( Bubo Virginianus), and the allied European species ( B. maximus). See Horned owl.

   Eagle ray (Zo["o]l.), any large species of ray of the genus Myliobatis (esp. M. aquila).

   Eagle vulture (Zo["o]l.), a large West African bid ( Gypohierax Angolensis), intermediate, in several respects, between the eagles and vultures.

Ray \Ray\, n. [F. raie, L. raia. Cf. Roach.] (Zo["o]l.)

1. Any one of numerous elasmobranch fishes of the order Rai[ae], including the skates, torpedoes, sawfishes, etc.

2. In a restricted sense, any of the broad, flat, narrow-tailed species, as the skates and sting rays. See Skate.

   Bishop ray, a yellow-spotted, long-tailed eagle ray ( Stoasodon n[`a]rinari) of the Southern United States and the West Indies.

   Butterfly ray, a short-tailed American sting ray ( Pteroplatea Maclura), having very broad pectoral fins.

   Devil ray. See Sea Devil.

   Eagle ray, any large ray of the family Myliobatid[ae], or [AE]tobatid[ae]. The common European species ( Myliobatis aquila) is called also whip ray, and miller.

   Electric ray, or Cramp ray, a torpedo.

   Starry ray, a common European skate ( Raia radiata).

   Sting ray, any one of numerous species of rays of the family Trygonid[ae] having one or more large, sharp, barbed dorsal spines on the whiplike tail. Called also stingaree.

n. Any of a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family ''(taxlink Myliobatidae family noshow=1)'', consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom.

n. powerful free-swimming tropical ray noted for `soaring' by flapping winglike fins; usually harmless but has venomous tissue near base of the tail as in stingrays

The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom.

Eagle rays feed on mollusks and crustaceans, crushing their shells with their flattened teeth. Devil and manta rays filter plankton from the water. They are excellent swimmers and are able to breach the water up to several metres above the surface. Compared with other rays, they have long tails, and well-defined rhomboidal bodies. They are ovoviviparous, giving birth to up to six young at a time. They range from in length.