Pay a visit to the S.E.A. Aquarium this month and you’ll catch a glimpse of the endangered ornate eagle ray, one of the rarest rays in the world. The Resorts World Sentosa attraction is apparently the world’s first wildlife institution to feature the shy, elusive marine creature, which arrived at the aquarium in August.
Known for its distinct pattern of reticulate dark lines and rings on its back, the ray can grow up to 5m, with a wing span of 240cm and a whip-like tail that doesn’t have a stinging barb. The one in Singapore, which has a 120cm wingspan and weighs 15kg, came from Cairns Marine.
Little is known about the ornate eagle ray, which the aquarium hopes to change by studying it to understand the species and help with the conservation of the creature. It’s currently listed as “endangered” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, due to its low reproduction rate and incidents of accidental capture by fisherman in the waters of Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Taiwan, and Thailand.
If you’re keen on spotting it, head over to the Shipwreck Habitat, where it swims around with other threatened species like the shark ray, green sea turtle, and hawksbill turtle.
Besides the ray, new additions to the aquarium include the Argentine humphead, Mauritius triggerfish, honeycomb cowfish, and bat ray.
Check them out below and see if you can recognize ’em at the aquarium.
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