Around 20 spinetail devil rays have beached in separate incidents this spring along Spain’s Mediterranean coast, sparking a wide-ranging investigation.
Also known as giant devil ray or devil fish (Mobula mobular), the Valencia-based Oceanogràfic foundation reported this week that there has been an ‘unusual increase in strandings’.
These have occurred on beaches in Cataluña, Valencia, Andalucía and the Balearics, explains the Oceanogràfic.
‘Multiple different factors’ may be to blame, according to experts, as there is no one obvious reason for the incidents.
An Oceanogràfic spokesperson said spinetail devil rays are in danger of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
They live in the open sea, where they filter plankton. In recent years scientists have documented an increase in the numbers of these rays off the Med coast of Spain.
Due to the increase in beachings in recent weeks, a work group of scientists has been created ‘to try to provide a coordinated response to this phenomenon’.
They will be carrying out tests and investigations to identify the exact reason for the strandings.
Anyone who sees a ray close to the shore or on the beach is asked to call the 112 emergency number so ‘an early response can organised to assist the animal’.
“It is vitally important not to increase stress for rays that have beached or to try to guide them back into the sea,” notes the Oceanogràfic.
People should keep their distance, while not losing sight of the animal until the authorities arrive.
The CRAM foundation, who work for the Catalan regional government, noted that they were called to rescue a ray at Playa de Cala Portopí between Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar on May 23 (2025).
“When we arrived the female, which spanned some three metres, was in the water and was disorientated and flipping over, which made it difficult for it to breathe and float,” noted the CRAM.
Their operation to try to save the ray lasted several hours; when the animal showed some signs of recovery they took it into deeper water, ‘helping it to swim’.
“However, it was so exhausted that it was unable to survive and after several attempts to resuscitate it, the ray died,” they stated.
The ray was taken to Barcelona university so a necropsy could be carried out in order to discover more about this endangered species.
Migratory animal
Scientists from Gaza and Italy who studied the seasonal migratory behaviour of spinetail devil rays in the Mediterranean, tracked nine individuals between 2016 and 2021.
“While broadly distributed during summer across the more productive areas of the western and central portions of the Mediterranean, most tracked rays showed an eastward movement towards eastern Levantine waters during the second half of the year,” they reported.
“One individual, tagged off Gaza in March 2016, travelled to Spain before swimming back to the Levantine Sea one year later.
“Our study corroborates the notion that the species undergoes predictable basin-wide migrations across the Mediterranean Sea, favouring the Levantine waters in late winter and early spring, thanks to the subregion’s milder sea surface temperatures in that time of the year compared to the rest of the Mediterranean.”
Devil ray facts
The Shark Trust tells us that it is known for devil-like horns and aerial acrobatics.
“The spinetail devil ray is the only mobulid to live in the Mediterranean,” they state.
It is capable of leaping from the water to great heights, says the Shark Trust. Scientists are still not sure why they put on such a display.
They employ a ‘chain feeding’ strategy, congregating in large groups and forming long lines.
“Some scientists believe the jumping from the water may be a technique used to direct prey towards the group,” says the Shark Trust.
“Others believe it’s to indicate to nearby rays that there is prey within the area.”
Photos by CRAM and the Oceanogràfic foundation
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