Common Electric Ray (Torpedo Nobiliana)

Latin name: Torpedo nobiliana
Common name: Common electric ray
In other languages: E: Tremolina negra, F: Torpille noire, D: Atlantischer Zitterrochen
Class: Elasmobranchii
Order: Torpediniformes
Family: Torpedinidae
Genus: Torpedo

Habitat: Inshore waters from 2 metres down to 100 metres.

Behaviour: A demersal species that envelops and stuns its prey to great effect. Within the ray family this species and the marbled ray are two of the few rays that bury themselves in the sand. Nocturnal by nature though happy to hunt during the day, these fish come in close to beaches where it is not unknown for bathers to stand on them (though not for long!).

Diet: Crustaceans and fish.

Size: Common: 40 - 80 cm, maximum: 100 cm.

Colour: Brown, dark red or violet above, rosy-white below.

Did you know: We have witnessed a diver repeatedly touching a small specimen of this species in disbelief of what brain and pain were trying to tell him, only to be shocked again and again with the diver holding his elbow after each painful shock. An adult specimen in this family group can stun a full grown person, so great caution should be taken when in their presence or when handling them, not forgetting that they can still give off a nasty shock sometime after death.