Diving Fun Fact
Bullseye electric rays (Diplobatis ommata) are solitary, nocturnal bottom-dwellers, who bounce along the ocean floor on their pelvic fins, feeding on bristle worms and small crustaceans, like shrimp and crayfish.
They can generate a shock using an electric organ. Such organs are common in electric fish who create electrical fields for mating, navigating, immobilizing prey, and even defense; though their electrical shock is not particularly dangerous to humans.
Bullseye electrical rays are found along the Pacific coast from the Gulf of California to Ecuador; they are listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, due to the considerable amount of shrimp trawling that takes place in their limited habitat, often resulting in the rays being taken as bycatch.
We spotted this bullseye electric ray while diving Espíritu Santo Island National Park in The Sea of Cortez. Read more in our post, Sea Lions and Whale Sharks: Scuba Diving in La Paz, Mexico.
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