It's a Shark! No, It's a . . .

The other evening I was walking with my partner along the bay in Marin County here in California. We are lucky to live a 1-minute walk from a long path that travels right along the water's edge. In one direction you see Mt. Tamalpais. If you look in the other way, you can see the Richmond Bridge. When the tide is out, a large expanse of muddy bottom is exposed studded with craggy rocks. Today the tide was in. Suddenly, Lex said, "There's a small shark!" Close to the bank rippling across the surface was what appeared to be a small, floppy dorsal fin. Then we saw two. "Maybe it's a mom and her baby," I said. But as we watched, we could see both "fins" rise and fall together equidistant apart. "It's a ray," said Lex. "It must be feeding." The "fins" disappeared, and a long, whip-thin tail waved near the long grass. We watched its undulating movements for awhile before continuing with our walk.

Since then, I've googled rays in California, and I suspect that this was a bat ray because of the pointed "wings" and the very thin tail. Apparently, they feed on clams and shrimp and other crustaceans. Their stinger can inflict some very painful wounds, but is used only in self-defense. They are not by nature an aggressive animal. It's best not to accidently step on them.