A diver discovered a giant eagle ray approximately three meters long camouflaged as a rock on the ocean floor.
Diver Stefano Ulivi captured footage of the eagle ray resting on the sand, camouflaged as a rock at a depth of 20 meters in the waters near the Azores, Portugal, as reported by MSN on November 21. The scientific name of the eagle ray is Myliobatoidei, and it can live up to 25 years.
Giant eagle ray.
The eagle ray measured about three meters long, comparable to the size of a shark or dolphin, Ulivi estimated. As he approached to film, it noticed him and immediately swam away.
“We were searching for this species of ray throughout the dive. As I was looking around, I spotted this large and peculiar rock. After a few seconds, I realized that it was not a rock but a marine creature, a giant ray,” Ulivi recounted.
“The eagle ray has a large barb at the tip of its tail. It’s a dangerous weapon that can be lethal. Typically, we only hope to find individuals that are 1-1.5 meters long. I have never seen a ray as large as this one. It made me realize that you never know what might happen in the deep sea,” Ulivi remarked.
