The question then emerged, why would the rays carry these minerals in their heads? What purpose do they serve? Our very own Jack Rudloe, founder of the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, sought to answer these questions that scientists all over the world weren't sure about. He conducted experiments and observations of his own and made several interesting discoveries. He observed a baby electric ray and saw it pull grains of sand into its inner ear with a small, black, snake-like organ. Curious about what these grains were made of, Rudloe teamed up with the FSU Geology Department’s Joe Donoghue. Through mineral analysis, Donoghue and Rudloe found that the rays “mined” magnetite, zircons, garnets, and other heavy minerals that occur in less than one percent of nature, as compared to quartz sands. This discovery coincided with Anne Rudloe’s, considering that the rays were attracted to the nutrient-rich river waters because of their high concentration of magnetite and other minerals.
Although the true purpose of the mineral storage very much remains an unsolved mystery, Rudloe speculates it may amplify the ray's electric current through a magnetite's magnetic properties.
Join us next Friday for a virtual lecture and live discussion with Jack Rudloe where he reveals and talks about some of the unique discoveries he has made after years of research into these bizarre critters that nobody seems to know anything about. | 
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