Rays are related to sharks, but their feeding habits are quite different. [V006 / Stingrays] are commonly found among the sandy bays of the Great Barrier Reef, lying partially buried in the shallows. They are bottom feeders that sift [P018 / crustaceans], mollusks and worms from the sand and crush them with their teeth. The Australian stingray can be as large as seven feet wide and thirteen feet long. They have a barbed poisonous tail for protection, which they lash when stepped on. In rare cases this has resulted in death.
Weighing over two tons, devil or [V005 / manta rays] are one of the largest fish found on the Great Barrier Reef. They feed on [G 24 / plankton] and small fishes which they sweep into their mouths with the cephalic fins on the front of their head. They swim on or close to the surface by flapping their [G 22 / pectoral] fins and sometimes leap or somersault out of the water with an enormous splash. The smallest of devil rays is found in Australia and grows no more than 2 feet across.
Like sharks, rays give birth to live young. At birth, a newborn manta ray is released into the water neatly wrapped in its bat-like wings.
