Update browser for a secure Made experience

It looks like you may be using a web browser version that we don't support. Make sure you're using the most recent version of your browser, or try using of these supported browsers, to get the full Made experience: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.

Get Tickets

Get Your Tickets

Visit us today!

Get Your Tickets: Find Tickets

Discounts & Promotions

Memberships, discounts & promotions

Discounts & Promotions: See Discounts

Animal Encounters

Get up close with the animals that call Mystic Aquarium home!

Animal Encounters: Learn More
All animals
Rhinoptera bonasus

Cownose Ray

Size

Wingspan up to four feet

Diet

Mollusks, such as oysters and clams, and other invertebrates

Habitat

Estuaries, shallow bays, and coastal areas

Range

Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico

Conservation Status

Lc

Least Concern

Nt

Near Threatened

Vu

Vulnerable

En

Endangered

Cr

Critical

Lw

Extinct in Wild

Ex

Extinct

Animal Fun Facts

  • Nose to Know: Cownose rays get their name from their unique, cow-shaped nose.
  • Shark Illusionists: When their triangle-shaped fins break the water’s surface, they can look like sharks.
  • Special Senses: Cownose rays can find food in a fascinating way – through electroreception! They can sense tiny electric signals that shellfish give off, making it easier to find their next meal buried in the sand.
  • Sting Defense: Cownose rays have a venomous spine near their tail, but they’re rarely a danger to people since they prefer to swim above the seafloor where they’re not likely to be stepped on.

Physical Description

Cownose rays have smooth, flat bodies and long, pointed pectoral fins, giving them a “kite-like” appearance. Their heads are shaped like a cow’s nose, which is where they get their name. Females are slightly larger than males and have wingspans that can reach four feet and they can weigh up to 50 pounds.

Their backs vary in color from brown to olive green, and they have a light-colored belly. This type of coloring is referred to as countershading and is a form of camouflage. Their light underside blends with light coming down from the ocean's surface, and their dark backs blend with the dark water when looking down from above.

Cownose rays have a long, whip-like tail equipped with a stinging barb. However, they are not aggressive animals and typically only sting when threatened. 

Cownose rays are active swimmers that flap their fins like bird wings to propel them through the water. They tend to swim near the water surface, and when their triangle-shaped fins break the surface, they are sometimes mistaken for sharks.

They live in many areas of the Atlantic Ocean. They are highly migratory animals that travel south in the winter and north in the summer. They migrate in large groups, or schools, of up to 10,000 rays.

Their diet consists of mollusks such as oysters, hard clams, and soft-shelled clams along with other benthic invertebrates.

Lifespan & Reproduction

Male cownose rays live up to 16 years, while females live up to 18 years. They reach maturity at five to seven years.

Mating takes place in June or July. Female cownose rays are ovoviviparous, which means that young rays hatch from eggs inside the female and the female then gives birth to live young. They typically produce just one pup per pregnancy, and pups are independent at birth.

At Mystic Aquarium

Guests can see cownose rays at Mystic Aquarium in two spaces: the outdoor Ray Touch Habitat, and in the Main Gallery in the Ocean Oasis habitat. The rays cycle between the two habitats, so they get enrichment from different environments. In the Ray Touch Habitat, guests can touch, and even feed, the cownose rays!