Spotted Eagle Ray

Photo: michel candel · CC BY-NC-SA

Spotted eagle rays glide over the Saratoga's flight deck in small groups, their distinctive white-spotted backs and long whip-like tails unmistakable at depth. They feed by excavating sandy sediment with their duck-like snouts to uncover buried clams, oysters, and crustaceans, and their foraging aerates the seafloor and cycles nutrients in ways that support the broader benthic community colonizing the wreck.