The newest arrivals at Bristol Aquarium are being treated with extreme care by the keepers.
Although they only measure a few centimetres across the eight baby thornback rays, which hatched out earlier this year, certainly live up to their names as their upper sides are covered with tiny prickles.
The baby rays are currently being looked after in the raceway display at the Harbourside attraction and aquarists are hoping more eggs will begin to hatch out in the coming weeks.
“Despite being one of the most widespread of our native ray species, thornbacks are increasingly under threat in the wild,” said Olivia Orchart, Displays Supervisor at Bristol Aquarium.
“The babies are exact miniature replicas of their parents and look great in their new new display,” she added.
Thornback rays lay up to 150 egg cases a year. The empty egg cases, known as mermaid's purses, are a common sight washed up on the shore.
Thornbacks are the most common ray in British waters and can grow up to 1.2 metres in length. The species gets its name from the coarse prickles which cover their upper body.
Despite being the UK’s commonest type of ray, it is still considered to be ‘Near Threatened’ in the wild which means it may be threatened with extinction in the near future.
Rays belong to the same family as sharks and are effectively ‘flattened-out’ versions of their close cousins. UK waters are home to at least 15 different species including the electric ray and the common skate, which can reach lengths of up to three metres.
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