Dive Into Your Imagination

Electric rays are elasmobranches and in the same family as sharks. Touch your nose. Touch your ears. Touch your nose and ears and wiggle them. What is different between your nose and your fingers and toes? You have bones in your body that make your skeleton, but sharks and rays are made of cartilage, the same thing that makes up your ears and your nose! The electric ray is a special elasmobranchii because it has a pair of organs capable of zapping electricity to kill or stun prey!

The electric ray can produce 8 volts of electricity up to 220 volts depending on the species. They are sometimes called torpedo rays because of the shape of their bodies. They rest on the sea floor, but they are excellent swimmers. They have round disc shaped bodies that produce aerodynamics as they glide through the water. Like many sharks and rays they also use counter shading for protection. The tops of their bodies are grey with black spots, while their under bellies are white.

Find out if there is a local university or research center specializing in aquatic systems, and visit the facility with your family. Contact the institute and schedule a tour to learn about what ocean scientists are currently studying. Who knows? Your kids could meet a lifelong mentor or role model and discover a fulfilling career. This could motivate them to follow their own dreams!

Who Lives in the Sea? The Award Winning “Who Lives In the Sea?” teaches children and their parents about animals living in the ocean. Why do dolphins move so fast? What kind of noise does a sea lion make? Did you know turtles walked with the dinosaurs? Meet whale sharks, o

BELIEVE Hammerhead Shark, Galapagos

STRETCH STRETCH If you bite off more than you can chew, don’t suffocate in the process. Snake eel eating a Flying Gunard, Indonesia

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