Warm calm water, sandy bottom, the sort of afternoon that makes you wade straight in. Under the sand a small round ray is doing exactly what it does all day, which is nothing, until a foot lands on it.
Where you’ll see it
Sandy shallows on calm beaches, buried with just the eyes showing. Hermosa and the calm end of Coco have them. Rocky beaches and surf beaches, less so.
What to know
The barb at the base of the tail is defensive and only used when the ray is trapped. Step next to one and it swims off. Step on it and it whips the tail round. The pain is severe and out of proportion to the wound, and hot water is the treatment: as hot as you can bear, for as long as it takes. Serious complications are rare. The prevention is the shuffle, and it becomes a habit within a week of living here.
