Eye healing in a free-ranging whitespotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) following shark-inflicted bite injuries

Abstract

Here we provide the first photographic records of the eye healing of a free-ranging whitespotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) following shark-inflicted bite injuries on the cephalic region. The whitespotted eagle ray with fresh wounds on the cephalic region close to its right orbit, upper jaw and the anterior margin of its right pectoral fin was photographed on 19 July 2017 at the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. Two subsequent photographs of the whitespotted eagle ray with a blind right eye were taken on 29 March 2018 and 18 April 2018. These records show the whitespotted eagle ray had the capacity to recover from the wounds, although they have led to the blindness of the eye. These findings also demonstrate this individual was able to survive for at least 9 months with a nonfunctional eye.