Spotted Eagle Ray

Photo: michel candel · CC BY-NC-SA

Graceful formations of two to eight spotted eagle rays patrol the sandy flats at the base of the reef wall throughout the year, their distinctive white-spotted dorsal surface making them unmistakable from above. They feed by rooting through soft sediment with their flattened snouts to extract buried bivalves and worms, leaving characteristic circular excavations in the sand. Their pelagic cruising behaviour means they often ascend the wall and pass divers at eye level, providing some of the closest large ray encounters in Bahraini waters.