Eagle rays belong to the Myliobatidae family of stingray fish. These stingrays swim in open water as opposed to others, which swim over the ocean floor. Eagle rays are also known for jumping out of the water. These rays usually live in warm, tropical waters such as the Indian Ocean coastline and Caribbean Sea. Spotted eagle rays are one of the most widely distributed eagle rays. Other Myliobatidae stingrays are the banded, ornated, mottled and bat eagle rays.
The sixgill stingray is the only species in the Hexatrygonidae family of stingrays. As its name suggests, the sixgill stingray has six pairs of gill openings. Other physical characteristics are a triangular snout and gill arches.
Round rays are in the Urotrygonidae stingray family. These stingrays have a round pectoral disk, a slender tail and no dorsal fins. Most round rays live in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and the coastlines of North and South America. The round stingray is one of the most abundant stingrays within its range. The Urotrygonidae stingray family includes the Chilean round, Haller's round and yellow stingray.
The only member of the Plesiobatidae family of stingrays is the deepwater stingray. Also known as the giant stingaree, this stingray lives at depths of over 2,200 feet below the water's surface. The deepwater stingray's pectoral disc has an oval shape and the latter half of the tail features a leaf-shaped caudal fin, or a tail fin.
The Gymnuridae family of stingrays features all butterfly ray species. Butterfly rays have flattened bodies and shorter tails than other stingray families. Some butterfly ray species, such as the spiny butterfly, has a width of 13 feet. Smooth, Australian, California, backwater and zonetail butterfly rays are other Gymnuridae species.
Whiptail stingrays get their names from their whip-shaped tails; these rays have venomous barbs on the tips of their tails. Whiptail rays belong in the stingray family Dasyatidae. These stingrays also live in freshwater habitats, but most whiptails dwell in saltwater environments. Some whiptail stingray species are the roughtail stingray, blue stingray, sharpnose stingray, pelagic ray, porcupine ray and painted maskray.