Species File: Exploring India’s biodiversity, one species at a time.
With their flattened bodies and wing-like fins, rays are a striking sight when they glide in ocean waters. But many rays face an uncertain future: a recent study found that most Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) in Indian waters along the Bay of Bengal fall outside marine protected areas, leaving critical breeding and nursery habitats vulnerable.
Rays are cartilaginous fish closely related to sharks. Found worldwide, they are mostly marine, though a few species live in freshwater lakes and rivers. Most ray species are benthic (dwelling on the ocean floor), while a few live in the open ocean. Depending on the species, they feed on zooplankton, krill, fish, molluscs, worms, crustaceans, and marine mammals, thereby shaping seabed communities and cycling nutrients.
There are diverse groups of rays, ranging from manta rays (the largest type, with some growing as wide as a minibus) to stingrays, which have whip-like venomous tails. Nearly all rays have flattened, disc-shaped bodies with wing-like pectoral fins.
A unique lineage is the rhino rays (order Rhinopristiformes), which have flattened, ray-like bodies but shark-like tails and pointed snouts. These comprise 68 species of saw-fishes, wedgefishes, giant guitar-fishes, guitarfishes and banjo rays.
According to the IUCN Red List, rhino rays are the world’s most threatened marine fish, with over 70% of assessed species considered threatened, and nearly half critically endangered. About 23 rhino ray species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) under Appendices I and II, which completely bans and strictly regulates trade, respectively. In India, about 15 species of rhino rays, such as the bottlenose wedgefish (Rhynchobatus australiae) and bowmouth guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma), are listed in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Amendment Act 2022, offering the highest level of protection.
Fisheries are the largest threat to rhino rays. Like other sharks and rays, they grow slowly and produce few offspring, making it hard for populations to recover from overfishing. Once targeted primarily for their fins, they are now frequently caught as bycatch. Fins are exported for international markets, and meat is consumed locally.
Ray skins have also recently become popular in commercial trade. In an article published in Mongabay-India in 2025, Rima Jabado, chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, said: “This is really concerning because these large rays, which are skinned, are coastal and they are being targeted in many countries not for their meat but specifically for their skin.”
Read more about how local ecological knowledge is aiding rhino ray conservation, why key shark and ray habitats in India remain unprotected, and how social media can help track shark and ray consumption.
Banner image: A manta ray. Image by Svetlana Obysova via Pexels.
