• Torpedo Ray Sighting Form

  • Southcoast Terrapin Project Sign

  • Contact Information - NECWA will not share your contact information with any other organization or business. This information will only be used to verify the sighting information. 

  • Torpedo Ray, also called the Atlantic Torpedo

    The Torpedo Ray, Tetronarce nobillan, is a species of electric ray from the family Torpedinidae. It is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia to Brazil. This electric ray that can generate an electrical charge close to 50 volts where it can zap predators or its prey.
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  • General Sighting Information

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  • Note: Please enter the GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) if you know them. If you did not record these coordinates for this sighting, you can provide an estimated location by using Google Maps or Google Earth.

    On Google Maps, place the cursor where the animal was seen and double click to bring up a dialog box providing the latitude and longitude. 

    On Google Earth, place your cursor where the animal was seen and the latitude and longitude will appear on the bottom right.  

    If you need to convert your latitude and longitude to decimal degrees, go the Earth Point website at https://www.earthpoint.us for a free online converter. 

  • Anatomy of a Ray or Skate

    Use the diagram below to familiarize yourself with the basic anatomy of a torpedo ray.
  • Anatomy of a ray

  • WARNING: Torpedo Rays are an electric ray that can provide a strong electric shock if they are alive. 


    The electric organs are on both sides of the large head and are the modified pectoral fins.

    DO NOT TOUCH THIS AREA if the animal is alive for you will get shocked. 

    If the animal is alive: To rescue a live torpedo ray, use a t-shirt or other soft material and wrap it around the tail. Then drag the animal by its tail back into deeper water. 

    If the animal is dead: Gently flip the animal over to get photos of its underside, including the reproductive structures to determine whether it is a male or female. 

  • Electric Organs of the Torpedo Ray

    The electric organs are located on both sides of the head region which is a part of the pectoral fins.
  • Diagram showing the electric organs of a torpedo ray.

  • Call the NECWA Resue Hotline Number

    If the Torpedo Ray is injured or alive and stranding, please call the NECWA rescue number at 508-566-0009.

  • Sighting Information

    Please answer the questions below about this specific sighting. This Jotform is meant to report only 1 animal per form. However, if you observe more than one animal and they are clustered together, you can group them together in this Jotform.

  • How to Determine the Sex of a Torpedo Ray

    If the animal is dead, you can safely turn the animal upside down to view structures on the underside that can help you sex the animal. Males have claspers that are used to transfer sperm to the female.
  • Diagram showing how to sex a torpedo ray

  • If the Torpedo ray is dead, you can safely determine the sex of the carcass by using a stick or other object to gently flip if over with its belly side up. Or you can grab the animal gently by the tail to flip it over. 

    If you are not sure if the Torpedo Ray is dead, don't flip the animal for it may add additional stress to the animal. 

  • Collecting Body Measurements

    Collect body measurements only if the animal is dead. Take straight line measurements with measuring tape off the body. Record all measurements in inches. Please collect the total length of the ray and the disc width.
  • How to measure the total length of a torpedo ray.
  • Diagram showing how to measure the disc width of a torpedo ray.

  • Photo Documentation

    Photographs and videos of each sighting help us verify the species and allows us to pull out additional information, including behaviors and associations. Even blurry or distant photos are useful to us.

  • Upload Images - Please upload any photographs of the Torpedo Ray you were able to collect.

    Send any additional photos or videos to NECWA at contact@necwa.org. 

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  • Thank you for sending us this sighting report of a Torpedo Ray. To learn more about the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA), go to our website at 

     www.necwa.org

  • NECWA logo

  • The New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA), is an all-volunteer nonprofit based in southeastern MA. We work to better understand and protect the unique coastal marine wildlife in New England waters. Your efforts are helping us achive this goalTo learn more about NECWA and to support this project and our other community projects, go to www.necwa.org.

    NECWA is also interested in sightings of basking sharks, ocean sunfish, thresher sharks, Diamondback terrapins and box turtles. Go to www.necwa.org to report your sightings.

    Thank You

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