Scientific name: Rhinoptera javanica
Status: Near threatened
Diet: Clams, oysters, other invertebrates
Reproduction: Ovoviviparous—rays produce eggs that remain inside the mother’s body until they hatch, resulting in a live birth
DIY Science
Reef Lagoon Field Guide
Learn about the fish that call our Reef Lagoon home. Rays are part of a group of fish called elasmobranchs, whose skeletons are made of soft, flexible cartilage, while the other fish in the lagoon are teleosts, or bony fishes.
Cownose ray
![Cownose ray, or Rhinoptera javanica](https://blog.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/styles/manual_crop_square_460px/public/assets/images/explorescience/webcams/cownoseray_webcam.jpg?itok=4yfY-3z-&c=5ac9e822d255b4f4b85687192d72c2e6)
Blue-spotted ribbontail ray
![Blue-spotted ribbontail ray, or Taeniura lymma](https://blog.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/styles/manual_crop_square_460px/public/assets/images/explorescience/webcams/taeniura_lymma2a.jpg?itok=bo59ro3r&c=12650377c027c8e2ad84645259917a37)
Scientific name: Taeniura lymma
Status: Near threatened
Diet: Mollusks, worms, shrimp, clams
Reproduction: Ovoviviparous
Photo credit: Jens Petersen, CC BY via Wikimedia Commons
Honeycomb ray
![Honeycomb ray, or Himantura uarnak](https://blog.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/styles/manual_crop_square_460px/public/assets/images/explorescience/webcams/ray_at_california_academy_of_sciences.jpg?itok=3GEQtiOG&c=0b828d95b569487ff7f7436158aee906)
Scientific name: Himantura uarnak
Status: Vulnerable
Diet: Crabs, shrimps, bivalves, gastropods, worms, jellyfish, bony fishes
Reproduction: Viviparous
Photo credit: Steven Walling, CC BY via Wikimedia Commons
Bluespotted stingray
![Bluespotted stingray, or Neotrygon kuhlii](https://blog.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/styles/manual_crop_square_460px/public/assets/images/explorescience/webcams/blue-spotted_stingray.jpg?itok=7wBeu7YK&c=dbae7d3cb7646a956715f126eb3fa551)
Scientific name: Neotrygon kuhlii
Status: Data deficient
Diet: Shrimp, crabs
Reproduction: Ovoviviparous
Photo credit: Bernard Dupont, CC BY via Wikimedia Commons
Diamond fish (or Mono)
![Diamond fish](https://blog.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/styles/manual_crop_square_460px/public/assets/images/explorescience/webcams/diamondfish_rling_sq.jpg?itok=mfgQLLPm&c=c417e56e8cd7aed777dc01e7ee821ee4)
Scientific name: Monodactylus argenteus
Status: Not yet assessed
Diet: Plankton and detritus
Reproduction: Broadcast spawners; males and females shed gametes into the water, where fertilization occurs
Photo credit: Richard Ling, CC BY
Convict surgeon
![Convict surgeon](https://blog.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/styles/manual_crop_square_460px/public/assets/images/explorescience/webcams/convict_surgeon_briangratwicke_flickr_sq.jpg?itok=CmhvRVKp&c=4ed14e799223dd530293cec9455d331c)
Scientific name: Acanthurus triostegus
Status: Least concern
Diet: Benthic algae
Reproduction: Oviparous broadcast spawners; found in large groups (up to several hundred) that exhibit mass spawning behavior
Photo credit: briangratwicke, CC BY
Copperband butterflyfish
![Copperband butterflyfish](https://blog.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/styles/manual_crop_square_460px/public/assets/images/explorescience/webcams/copperband_rubenundheim_flickr.jpg?itok=Vw1dN4DC&c=33d2ad6d91b115885561ed05133e2920)
Scientific name: Chelmon rostratus
Status: Least concern
Diet: Benthic invertebrates, which it finds in rock cervices with its elongated snout
Reproduction: Oviparous
Photo credit: Ruben Undheim, CC BY
Indian pompano
![Indian pompano](https://blog.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/styles/manual_crop_square_460px/public/assets/images/explorescience/webcams/indianpompano.jpg?itok=irPYTpSI&c=c417e56e8cd7aed777dc01e7ee821ee4)
Scientific name: Trachinotus mookalee
Status: Not yet assessed
Diet: Small fishes and crustaceans
Reproduction: Broadcast spawners