Lesser electric ray

Narcine bancrofti

FAMILY

Narcinidae

TAXONOMY

Torpedo bancrofti Griffith, 1834, Jamaica.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

Spanish: Raya eléctrica torpedo.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Adults up to 23 in (58 cm) in total length but only 3.5–3.9 in (9–10 cm) in total length at birth. The head, pectoral fins, and trunk are flattened and joined to form a fleshy disc. Tail is stout, and the caudal fin well developed. Snout is very blunt, with a narrow, greatly protrusible mouth that forms a short tube. Kidney-shaped electric organs are located on either side of head, giving the skin surface a honeycomb appearance. Coloring yellowish brown to grayish brown or dark brown dorsally and white to creamy white ventrally. The dorsal surface is patterned with dark blotches, spots, and crossbars.

DISTRIBUTION

Tropical to warm temperate waters of the western Atlantic. Ranges from North Carolina to Venezuela, including the northern and western Gulf of Mexico, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, Yucatan, Belize and northern South America.

HABITAT

Benthic habitats on soft bottoms in shallow water.

BEHAVIOR

Nothing is known concerning the behavior of this species.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Electric organs are used to stun prey, which consist of polychaetes, other invertebrates, and small fishes.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Viviparous without a placenta. Litter size can be as many as 18 embryos.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by the IUCN.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.