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Rays and sharks are closely related and compose their own subclass called Elasmobranches. They share many similarities such as the hatching of eggs inside the female so that she gives birth to live young. Both sharks and rays also have skeletons completely made up of cartilage. Abort 180 million years ago, rays evolved from sharks with their bodies gradually stretching and flattering out.
 Costa Rica Ray Rays can be split into two basic categories: free-swimming or bottom dwelling. The former gracefully flap their large pectoral fins, to propel them through the water column while rays of the latter group found resting on the bottom. They typically feed on crab, shrimp, clams, snails, worms and small fish. Free-swimming rays such as the manta and mobula filter plankton.
Many people make the mistake of assuming that all rays sting, but in fact only about 155 of the 480 recognized species of ray have a venomous barb. The most common form of injury occurs when swimmers accidentally step on easy, which can result in a painful, but non-fatal sting. It is easily possible for beachgoers to avoid a stingray that is resting in shallow waters by doing the “stingray shuffle.” It should be stressed that rays do not consciously ‘attack’ people, but rather react instinctively to defend themselves.
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