The butterfly rays are the rays forming the genus Gymnura and the family Gymnuridae.

They are found in warm oceans worldwide, and occasionally in estuaries.

The body of butterfly rays is flattened and surrounded by an extremely broad disc formed by the pectoral fins, which merge in front of the head.

[2] McEachran et al. (1996) place the butterfly rays in the subfamily Gymnurinae of the family Dasyatidae,[3] but this article follows FishBase and ITIS in treating them as a family.

[4][5] There are currently 12 species in this genus (others are considered synonyms):[2][6][7] These species commonly prey on fish, crustaceans and mollusks.