Monday the 15th of September, 2021 . . . Shark Bay, Iluka, Northern NSW

What is this odd looking sea creature? It looks like a harmless pancake but I definitely did not want to touch it, so I decided to ask my friend Dr Fish (Prof Callum Brown) to check out what this creature is. He told me that this is a Numb-Ray. Turns out it is a good thing that I didn’t touch it as it can put out a 200-volt electric shock!! Dr Fish told me it was just like touching an electric fence. EEK! They have a lure on them that looks like a weird worm which draws in fish (and divers!) and they shock them and eat them (well not the divers, the fish ha!ha!).

I did some more research and I found out that these rays are unique to Australia and can get quite large – over ½ metre across! Their mouths are expandable, so they are able to electrocute large prey such as penguins and eat them whole. WOW!!

Numb-Rays are also known as Coffin Rays (just to emphasise the danger!), so it probably goes without saying that it is best to avoid touching them - good that I did! They are found in the ocean from the shallows down to 200m deep, growing up to 70cm they give birth in summer to live wired little pups 8cm long.