Torpedo Ray

Photo: Gary McDonald · © all rights reserved

Torpedo rays rest on coarse sand at the base of the Puerto Colón Wall at depths of 25 to 40 metres, their spotted circular disc measuring up to 60 centimetres across and capable of delivering electric discharges of 45 to 200 volts used both to stun prey fish and to deter approaching predators. They are viviparous, giving birth to live young after a gestation of around 4 months, and the deeper sand zones around this wall appear to serve as nursery habitat for juveniles in warmer months based on the smaller individuals regularly observed by local operators. As sit-and-wait electric predators, they fill a unique ecological niche on the sandy margin of the reef wall, controlling populations of bottom-dwelling fish that are too large or fast for most invertebrate predators to take.