Myliobatiformes

Myliobatiformes, commonly known as the stingrays, is one of the four orders of batoids, the cartilaginous fishes related to sharks, and belongs to the subclass of elasmobranchs. It was formerly included in the order Rajiformes, but phylogenetic studies show the stingrays to be a monophyletic group whose most derived members evolved their highly flattened shapes independently of the skates. Members share a long, thin tail carrying serrated spines and a pancake-like body, a single-lobed pelvic fin, no spine in mid-tail and generally no dorsal fin, and stinging spines at the base of the tail. Their large pectoral fins are fused to the head in most families, and they camouflage themselves by lying flat on the seafloor. The order includes the whiptail stingrays Dasyatidae, the eagle rays, the cownose rays and the mantas.