The trade-off would be grave, indeed. Not that we humans haven't experienced some tradeoffs, compared to our distant evolutionary ancestors, e.g., I've heard that the muscles to support human pregnancy are not fully evolved for upright stature (evolution of hands vs. more backaches, yes?), and that our infants have prolonged dependence on their parents because they need to be born while their large brains can still fit through their mothers' pelvic openings...
What I like most about rays is how gracefully they move—like dancers. They have cartilaginous skeletons, and their enlarged pectoral fins are very flexible. I also like the diamond-ish shape of bat rays and manta rays. And their texture—I got to touch some young bat rays in a petting pool at the Monterey Bay Acquarium, once, and I remember them as feeling very smooth to the touch. 😌
Oh yes! It's beautiful how they move. I like how they move their sides--are those their pectoral fins?--up and down; it's like wing beats. How wonderful that you got to touch them!
Yes, rays' winglike sides are pectoral fins (to the best of my knowledge).
Because water resistance makes rays' flight-like movements slower than the wingbeats of birds, I actually find their movements more enjoyable to watch than the movements of any birds I know except maybe swallows.
The internet tells me that rays feel smooth when stroked in one direction, and sandpapery-rough when stroked in a different direction, like sharks do, but I only remember the smoothness.
As far as I can remember, the baby bat rays in the petting pool were about 8 to 10 inches across, from wingtip to wingtip, and dark-colored above but light-colored on their undersides. Watching and touching them is a very fond memory. 😌
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What I like most about rays is how gracefully they move—like dancers. They have cartilaginous skeletons, and their enlarged pectoral fins are very flexible. I also like the diamond-ish shape of bat rays and manta rays. And their texture—I got to touch some young bat rays in a petting pool at the Monterey Bay Acquarium, once, and I remember them as feeling very smooth to the touch. 😌
Short video that includes glimpses of bat rays moving through water
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Because water resistance makes rays' flight-like movements slower than the wingbeats of birds, I actually find their movements more enjoyable to watch than the movements of any birds I know except maybe swallows.
The internet tells me that rays feel smooth when stroked in one direction, and sandpapery-rough when stroked in a different direction, like sharks do, but I only remember the smoothness.
As far as I can remember, the baby bat rays in the petting pool were about 8 to 10 inches across, from wingtip to wingtip, and dark-colored above but light-colored on their undersides. Watching and touching them is a very fond memory. 😌
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