Pacific electric ray, or Torpedo californica, receives its "electric" nickname from the electric currents it creates to stun prey or predators. The stingrays have short tails with a caudal fin. Pacific electric rays are gray with black spots, while its underside is white. When fully mature, it length ranges between 4 to 5 feet.
The diamond stingray, or Dasyatis dipterura, is most common in the Los Angeles County area. Per their name, they have diamond-shaped disks. Diamond stingrays have black skin and lack a caudal fin on the tail. The tail has a whip shape and is more than 1 1/2 times longer than its disk.
Urobatis halleri, or the round stingray, has a round-shaped disk and a short, stock tail. They range from Humboldt Bay in Northern California to the Southern California coastline. Round stingrays can live in shallow oceanic waters, or deep ocean floors of up to 300 feet. The length ranges from 10 inches to 2 feet. When breeding, round stingrays live in saltwater estuaries and near the coastlines.
The bat ray, or Myliobatis californica, has pectoral fins that resemble the wings of a bat. Its range in the Pacific runs from Oregon to Mexico. Bat rays belong in the eagle ray family of stingrays. They prefer to swim in open waters rather than on the ocean floor. The Florida Museum of Natural History says spectators have seen bat rays jump out of the water and skim along the ocean's surface.
The California butterfly ray (Gymnura marmorata) has a flat disk and the top of its pectoral fins merge at the ray's head. It has a short tail and its disk ranges from 4 to 5 feet in width. California butterfly rays prefer living near the shore. The stingrays usually show up near the Southern California shoreline in the months of April and May. A California butterfly ray's diet consists of teleost fish and cephalopods -- squids and octopi.