Spotted eagle ray

Photo: Dan Schofield · CC BY

Spotted eagle rays are a headline attraction at the Tibbetts wreck, regularly circling the hull in pairs or small groups and using the sandy substrate around the site to forage for buried invertebrates with their distinctive flat, pavement-like teeth. They are classical filter swimmers, generating lift through their broad, triangular pectoral fins and relying on cephalic lobes to funnel water over their spiracles. Their distinctive white-spotted dorsal pattern is unique to each individual, allowing long-term photo-identification studies.