The area of the Gulf of Trieste and the nearby northern Adriatic is referred to as the cradle of marine natural history, and it is in this area that the research monitoring series is among the longest on the planet. However, knowledge of many groups of marine organisms is still poor and incomplete. This is also true for cartilaginous fishes (Elasmobranchia). Paradoxically, we still know very little about some of the most common sharks and rays. This is also true for the common Eagle ray (Myliobatis aquila). 

This makes the results of a recently published study on the feeding ecology of the common Eagle ray in the Gulf of Trieste and the surrounding area, published by researchers from the Marine Biological Station of the National Institute of Biology in Piran and researchers from the University of Maribor and the University of Trieste, all the more important. Analysis of the contents of 122 stomachs of specimens caught as by-catch in the Gulf of Trieste and along the western Istrian coast showed that common Eagle ray predate mostly molluscs (75.17% of relative abundance), mainly bivalves and gastropods, while crustaceans, sipunculids, echinoderms, and polychaetes were much less abundant (<10%). Dietary diversity was markedly higher in juveniles, suggesting a more opportunistic foraging strategy in early life stages. However, as body size increases, a distinct ontogenetic dietary shift occurs, resulting in a greater specialisation for shell predation. Some researchers suggest that the area in question is very important as a breeding habitat for many species of cartilaginous fish and as a nursery area for their juveniles. This is certainly the case for the common Eagle ray, for which the study area offers significant foraging opportunities, thus underlining its wider ecological importance for the species. 

The results obtained are in good agreement with the few studies on the diet of the common carrier pigeon in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic.