What are stingrays and why do they sting. How dangerous are stingray stings. What are the symptoms of a stingray sting. How to treat a stingray sting. How to avoid getting stung by a stingray.

The Fascinating World of Stingrays: From Freshwater to Saltwater

Stingrays, cousins to sharks, are remarkable creatures that inhabit both freshwater and saltwater environments. While most cartilaginous fish prefer saltwater, freshwater stingrays were originally found in South America. These flat, wide-bodied fish have a unique anatomy and movement pattern that sets them apart from other aquatic species.

Did you know that stingrays don’t have bones? Their body’s support system is made of cartilage, similar to the hard tissue that forms your nose. This cartilaginous structure allows for their distinctive flat shape and flexibility.

Stingray Anatomy and Movement

Stingrays have broad fins that extend the full length of their body, giving them their characteristic round, flat shape. Unlike other fish species that flap their fins to “fly” through the water, stingrays propel themselves using a wave-like motion of their entire body. This unique swimming technique contributes to their graceful and mesmerizing movement in the water.

• Freshwater stingrays can grow up to 18 inches wide
• Their tails can be about an inch wide and up to one foot long
• In captivity, stingrays can live up to 10 years

The Stingray’s Defense Mechanism: Understanding Their Sting

Despite their generally gentle and shy nature, stingrays possess a formidable defense mechanism in the form of their tail. Some species of stingrays have sharp spines in their tail, which they can use to attack when feeling threatened.

Can stingrays control their stinger? Yes, stingrays have voluntary control over their tail and can use it defensively when they feel threatened or are accidentally stepped on. The stinger is not used for hunting prey but solely for self-defense.

Anatomy of a Stingray Sting

The stingray’s tail contains small spines that are covered with venom. When the stingray strikes, it pushes its tail up and forward, embedding these spines into the victim’s skin. As the spine penetrates, the skin-like sheath surrounding it bursts, releasing venom into the wound.

Are all stingray species venomous? While not all stingray species possess venomous spines, many do. The venom is primarily used as a defense mechanism against predators like large carnivorous fish and sharks.

The Impact of Stingray Stings: Symptoms and Severity

Stingray stings can have a range of effects on humans, from mild discomfort to severe pain and, in rare cases, life-threatening complications. Understanding the symptoms and potential severity of a stingray sting is crucial for proper treatment and management.

Common Symptoms of a Stingray Sting

1. Instant, severe pain at the site of the sting
2. Swelling and inflammation around the wound
3. Bleeding from a jagged, discolored wound
4. Nausea and vomiting
5. Sweating and diarrhea
6. Muscle cramps and weakness
7. Anxiety and fainting

How long do stingray sting symptoms last? The pain from a stingray sting typically reaches its peak intensity within 90 minutes and gradually subsides over 6 to 48 hours. However, in some cases, discomfort can persist for days or even weeks.

Treating Stingray Stings: First Aid and Medical Intervention

Prompt and proper treatment of stingray stings is essential to minimize pain, prevent infection, and avoid potential complications. While most stingray stings require emergency care, there are some immediate first aid steps that can be taken.

Immediate First Aid for Stingray Stings

• Gently irrigate the wound with salt water to remove contaminants
• Apply pressure to the area around the injury to stop bleeding
• Do not remove the stingray spine unless it has penetrated vital areas or is weakly embedded
• Seek medical attention as soon as possible

Should you soak a stingray sting in hot water? While not scientifically verified, some healthcare professionals recommend soaking the affected area in warm water as an early treatment to help alleviate pain.

Medical Treatment for Stingray Stings

Upon arrival at an emergency room, medical professionals will take several steps to treat a stingray sting:

1. Thorough examination of the wound for remnants of the stingray’s sheath
2. Administration of local anesthetic for pain management
3. Removal of any embedded spines
4. Cleaning and debridement of the wound
5. Assessment of potential internal organ damage for stings on the trunk of the body
6. Decision on wound closure or allowing it to heal open
7. Administration of tetanus shot and possibly antibiotics

Why is proper wound care important for stingray stings? Proper wound care is crucial to prevent infection, promote healing, and minimize scarring. Stingray stings can introduce bacteria into the wound, making thorough cleaning and potentially antibiotic treatment necessary.

Preventing Stingray Stings: Safety Tips for Swimmers and Beachgoers

While stingray encounters can be alarming, there are several precautions that swimmers and beachgoers can take to minimize the risk of getting stung. Understanding stingray behavior and habitat preferences is key to avoiding unwanted interactions.

The Stingray Shuffle: A Simple Yet Effective Technique

One of the most effective ways to avoid stepping on a stingray is to practice the “stingray shuffle.” This technique involves shuffling your feet along the ocean floor instead of taking normal steps. The vibrations created by this movement alert nearby stingrays, giving them time to swim away.

How effective is the stingray shuffle? While not foolproof, the stingray shuffle significantly reduces the risk of accidentally stepping on a stingray, as these creatures typically prefer to avoid confrontation and will move away when they sense movement nearby.

Additional Safety Measures

• Be aware of your surroundings, especially in shallow, sandy areas where stingrays often rest
• Avoid areas with posted warnings about stingrays
• Wear protective footwear when wading in areas known to have stingrays
• Enter the water slowly, giving stingrays time to move away
• Avoid handling or touching stingrays, even if they appear docile

Stingray Conservation and Ecological Importance

Despite their potential danger to humans, stingrays play a crucial role in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Understanding their ecological importance can foster appreciation and promote conservation efforts for these fascinating creatures.

Ecological Role of Stingrays

Stingrays serve as both predators and prey in aquatic ecosystems, helping to maintain balance in food webs. They feed on a variety of small organisms, including mollusks, crustaceans, and small fish, while also serving as food for larger predators like sharks.

How do stingrays impact their environment? As bottom-dwellers, stingrays play a role in bioturbation, the process of reworking sediments through their feeding and movement activities. This helps to redistribute nutrients and oxygenate sediments, benefiting other marine life.

Conservation Challenges and Efforts

Many stingray species face threats from habitat destruction, overfishing, and climate change. Conservation efforts focus on protecting critical habitats, implementing sustainable fishing practices, and raising awareness about the importance of stingrays in ecosystem health.

• Establishment of marine protected areas to safeguard stingray habitats
• Research into stingray population dynamics and behavior
• Public education programs to promote understanding and appreciation of stingrays
• Collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and local communities for effective conservation strategies

Stingrays in Human Culture: From Ancient Myths to Modern Research

Stingrays have long captured human imagination, appearing in various cultures’ myths, legends, and traditional practices. In modern times, they continue to fascinate researchers and the public alike, contributing to our understanding of marine biology and potential medical applications.

Stingrays in Cultural Mythology

Many indigenous cultures have incorporated stingrays into their folklore and traditional practices. For example, some Polynesian cultures used stingray barbs as a material for tattooing tools, while others viewed stingrays as spiritual guardians of the sea.

How have stingrays influenced human culture? Stingrays have been featured in art, literature, and traditional medicine across various cultures, reflecting their significance in human imagination and interaction with the natural world.

Modern Research and Potential Applications

Scientific interest in stingrays extends beyond their ecological role, with researchers exploring potential applications of stingray-derived compounds in medicine and technology.

• Study of stingray venom for potential pain management applications
• Investigation of stingray-inspired designs for underwater vehicles and robotics
• Research into stingray cartilage for potential therapeutic uses
• Examination of stingray skin structure for biomimetic materials development

What can we learn from stingrays? Ongoing research into stingray biology, behavior, and adaptations continues to provide valuable insights into evolution, marine ecology, and potential biomimetic applications in various fields.

All About Stingrays, Their Stings, and How To Treat Them

Written by Nicklya Harris-Ray

Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev on November 24, 2022

• What Are Stingrays?
• Why Do Stingrays Sting?
• Are Stingray Stings Dangerous?
• Stingray Sting Symptoms
• Stingray Sting Treatment
• How to Avoid Stingray Stings 
• More

Freshwater stingrays were originally found in South America. They live in freshwater, unlike most cartilaginous fish, which prefer saltwater. They are somewhat submissive, but stingrays cause more human injuries annually than any other predator in Amazonian waters, thanks to a spine that constantly sheds and regrows. But how does the stingray stinger cause injury, and how can you avoid it?

Cousins to sharks, stingrays are boneless, wide-bodied flat fish. The body’s support system is made of cartilage, like the hard tissue that makes up your nose. Stingray fins are broad and grow the full length of the body, which gives them a round, flat shape. While swimming, the stingray moves its entire body to propel itself through the water in a wave-like motion. This is different from other species that flap their fins to “fly” through the water. 

Stingrays in freshwater can grow to a width of 18 inches. The tails can be about an inch wide and as long as one foot. Though researchers don’t know how long a stingray can survive in the wild, in confinement by humans they can live up to 10 years.

Stingrays have a tail ready for defense. Some types of stingrays have sharp spines in the tail. A stingray will use its hard, barbed tail to attack. The small spines contain venom and can penetrate a human’s skin. The stinger will usually leave a mark and cause swelling and pain that might last multiple days to weeks. Stingray stings can also cause allergic reactions and life-threatening shock.

Despite its reputation, the stingray is gentle and shy, preferring to retreat rather than strike. It usually reserves attack mode for predators like large carnivorous fish and sharks. It will only strike a human when it feels threatened or is stepped on.

Most stingray stings require emergency care. Injuries usually happen when an unsuspecting person is swimming in a bay, ocean surf, or backwater and steps on a stingray. It may be buried in sand both in and out of water. When provoked, the stingray will push its tail up and forward, embedding the spines into a person’s skin. The skin-like sheath around the spine will burst, and the venom will enter through the person’s wound. 

The most common symptom of a sting from a stingray is instant, severe pain. The injury is usually limited to a certain area, but the pain can spread very fast. The pain usually reaches its greatest intensity in less than 90 minutes. Usually, the pain slowly lessens in six to 48 hours but in some cases can go on for days or weeks. 

In worst-case scenarios, respiratory distress and death have occurred. More common symptoms include peripheral vasodilation — a change in blood vessels in some parts of the body to direct more blood to an injured area — which may lead to weakness, fainting, anxiety, and nausea. Other symptoms include:

• Vomiting
• Sweating
• Diarrhea
• Inflammation of lymphatic channels
• Generalized cramps
• Groin or armpit pain

The sting wound is usually swollen and jagged, with discolored edges and concentrated tissue destruction, and bleeds heavily. Wounds are often contaminated with bits of the skin-like sheath from the tail embedded. As with any puncture wound, an infection can occur.

Irrigation and debridement — when health care providers clean a wound and remove any particles of debris — are the mainstays of stingray sting treatment. The extremity containing the sting should be irrigated gently with salt water to remove contaminants like spine pieces, glandular tissue, and skin sheath. Whether you’re in the water or on land when the sting happens, do not remove the stingray spine unless it has penetrated the thorax, neck, or abdomen, it has fully severed an injured limb, or it is only weakly embedded.

Attempt to stop bleeding by applying pressure to the area around the injury. Soaking in warm water is not a verified early sting treatment, but some health care workers recommend it. After a patient arrives in the emergency room, providers should check the wound for leftover sheath. The ER staff may give a local anesthetic. If spines are embedded, they will be treated like other foreign objects. If the patient was stung on the trunk of the body, the staff should examine closely for injury to internal organs. They’ll decide whether to close up the wound or cover it and allow it to heal. Staff may administer treatment for symptoms, including medication for pain or nausea, as well as a tetanus shot. Some people may receive a prescription for antibiotics to fight potential infection. 

After the patient leaves the hospital, health care providers will probably recommend rest and elevating the injured area for several days.

To stop an injury before it begins, do not swim in an area where people have seen stingrays. Always follow posted signs, follow lifeguard instructions, and take precautions. Stingrays like shallow warm water near the shore. They spend time lying nearly submerged here or buried in the ocean floor to hide from predators. 

It can be difficult to spot a stingray partially hidden in the sand. Shuffle your feet while you are walking, which may scare the stingray away before you step on it.

If you see a stingray, avoid getting too close, and be careful where you walk and swim in areas that might be home to stingrays.

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All About Stingrays, Their Stings, and How To Treat Them

Written by Nicklya Harris-Ray

Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev on November 24, 2022

• What Are Stingrays?
• Why Do Stingrays Sting?
• Are Stingray Stings Dangerous?
• Stingray Sting Symptoms
• Stingray Sting Treatment
• How to Avoid Stingray Stings 
• More

Freshwater stingrays were originally found in South America. They live in freshwater, unlike most cartilaginous fish, which prefer saltwater. They are somewhat submissive, but stingrays cause more human injuries annually than any other predator in Amazonian waters, thanks to a spine that constantly sheds and regrows. But how does the stingray stinger cause injury, and how can you avoid it?

Cousins to sharks, stingrays are boneless, wide-bodied flat fish. The body’s support system is made of cartilage, like the hard tissue that makes up your nose. Stingray fins are broad and grow the full length of the body, which gives them a round, flat shape. While swimming, the stingray moves its entire body to propel itself through the water in a wave-like motion. This is different from other species that flap their fins to “fly” through the water. 

Stingrays in freshwater can grow to a width of 18 inches. The tails can be about an inch wide and as long as one foot. Though researchers don’t know how long a stingray can survive in the wild, in confinement by humans they can live up to 10 years.

Stingrays have a tail ready for defense. Some types of stingrays have sharp spines in the tail. A stingray will use its hard, barbed tail to attack. The small spines contain venom and can penetrate a human’s skin. The stinger will usually leave a mark and cause swelling and pain that might last multiple days to weeks. Stingray stings can also cause allergic reactions and life-threatening shock.

Despite its reputation, the stingray is gentle and shy, preferring to retreat rather than strike. It usually reserves attack mode for predators like large carnivorous fish and sharks. It will only strike a human when it feels threatened or is stepped on.

Most stingray stings require emergency care. Injuries usually happen when an unsuspecting person is swimming in a bay, ocean surf, or backwater and steps on a stingray. It may be buried in sand both in and out of water. When provoked, the stingray will push its tail up and forward, embedding the spines into a person’s skin. The skin-like sheath around the spine will burst, and the venom will enter through the person’s wound.  

The most common symptom of a sting from a stingray is instant, severe pain. The injury is usually limited to a certain area, but the pain can spread very fast. The pain usually reaches its greatest intensity in less than 90 minutes. Usually, the pain slowly lessens in six to 48 hours but in some cases can go on for days or weeks. 

In worst-case scenarios, respiratory distress and death have occurred. More common symptoms include peripheral vasodilation — a change in blood vessels in some parts of the body to direct more blood to an injured area — which may lead to weakness, fainting, anxiety, and nausea. Other symptoms include:

• Vomiting
• Sweating
• Diarrhea
• Inflammation of lymphatic channels
• Generalized cramps
• Groin or armpit pain

The sting wound is usually swollen and jagged, with discolored edges and concentrated tissue destruction, and bleeds heavily. Wounds are often contaminated with bits of the skin-like sheath from the tail embedded. As with any puncture wound, an infection can occur.

Irrigation and debridement — when health care providers clean a wound and remove any particles of debris — are the mainstays of stingray sting treatment. The extremity containing the sting should be irrigated gently with salt water to remove contaminants like spine pieces, glandular tissue, and skin sheath. Whether you’re in the water or on land when the sting happens, do not remove the stingray spine unless it has penetrated the thorax, neck, or abdomen, it has fully severed an injured limb, or it is only weakly embedded.

Attempt to stop bleeding by applying pressure to the area around the injury. Soaking in warm water is not a verified early sting treatment, but some health care workers recommend it. After a patient arrives in the emergency room, providers should check the wound for leftover sheath. The ER staff may give a local anesthetic. If spines are embedded, they will be treated like other foreign objects. If the patient was stung on the trunk of the body, the staff should examine closely for injury to internal organs. They’ll decide whether to close up the wound or cover it and allow it to heal. Staff may administer treatment for symptoms, including medication for pain or nausea, as well as a tetanus shot. Some people may receive a prescription for antibiotics to fight potential infection. 

After the patient leaves the hospital, health care providers will probably recommend rest and elevating the injured area for several days.

To stop an injury before it begins, do not swim in an area where people have seen stingrays. Always follow posted signs, follow lifeguard instructions, and take precautions. Stingrays like shallow warm water near the shore. They spend time lying nearly submerged here or buried in the ocean floor to hide from predators. 

It can be difficult to spot a stingray partially hidden in the sand. Shuffle your feet while you are walking, which may scare the stingray away before you step on it.

If you see a stingray, avoid getting too close, and be careful where you walk and swim in areas that might be home to stingrays.

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15 Fun Facts About Rays

Natasha Brown / Getty Images

Thanks to their flat bodies and long jagged tails, stingrays look like creatures from another world. These marine vertebrates are actually quite common and inhabit the warm and shallow waters of tropical and subtropical regions of the world, as well as freshwater lakes and rivers. Find out what makes stingrays one of the most unique marine animals.

1. Rays are carnivores

Rays are exclusively carnivores and prey on animals that live on or under sand. A study that looked at a reconstruction of the diet of stingrays American stingray along the Caribbean Sea showed that the stingrays fed mainly on crustaceans, ray-finned fish and worms. Additional research showed that this species consumed at least 65 different types of prey – up to 30 each day. (1)

2. They move by flapping “wings”

Stingrays may look like they are flying through the water, but a closer look reveals a graceful flapping motion that pushes them. Most species make undulating movements with their bodies as they move like an underwater wave, but others tend to flap their sides up and down like wings. A study by the Save Our Seas Foundation found that rays native to South Africa travel at speeds of 1.35 kilometers per hour, with some species migrating up to 850 kilometers. (2)

3. Rays are closely related to sharks

They may not have sharp teeth, but rays do share a few features with sharks. They both belong to the same group of cartilaginous fish (meaning their skeletons are supported by cartilage, not bones) and have similar skin. They also use the same sense organs – called “ampullae of Lorenzini” – which are special sense organs that pick up electrical signals emitted by prey.

4. Stingray babies are born fully developed

Newborn rays can swim and feed immediately after birth, and most species do not require parental care. Scientists are just beginning to understand how falling into the trap (even accidentally) can cause preterm birth in stingrays. In a study published in Biological Conservation , about 85% of blue rays lost their offspring after being caught. (3)

daboost / Getty Images

5. Females are larger than males

Not only do females reach sexual maturity faster than males, they also live longer. Among the round slopes Urobatis halleri , especially fast growing species, females and males reach 58% and 70% of their full size, respectively, within the first year of life. Females live an average of 15–22 years, while males only live five to seven years. (4)

6. Touching stingray displays is a touchy subject

Research on whether stingrays like to be touched is controversial at best. For example, the AZA-certified Shedd Aquarium in Chicago in 2017 published results indicating that animals do not suffer from human interaction and may even enjoy it. However, just one year later, 34 of the 42 rays that live in this aquarium, presented at the sensory exhibition, mysteriously died. (5, 6)

7. They are poisonous

We all remember how beloved television host and wildlife activist Steve Irwin was fatally shot in the heart by a stingray in 2006. Rays have long thin tails with one to three venomous spines attached, and the bite usually causes great pain and the risk of infection at the site of the wound. According to the National Capital Poison Control Center , between 1,500 and 2,000 stingray-inflicted injuries are reported annually in the United States, most of which occur in the legs or feet. (7)

8.

They sleep in the sand

While resting, rays burrow into the sand, leaving their protective spikes sticking out to protect themselves during sleep. This can cause problems in areas where people enter the water, so it is recommended that beachgoers perform “shuffling” to cause vibrations in the sand and alert stingrays to their presence.

9. There are more than 200 species of rays

Experts estimate that there are about 220 different species of rays living in the oceans, freshwater lakes and rivers. Megatrygon microps is one of the rarest species in the ocean, with a wingspan of over 2.1 meters, white spots and tiny eyes (hence its nickname, the Small Eyed Ray). Until the early 2000s, there were only a few sightings, but sightings are rapidly becoming more frequent; researchers have seen 70 individuals off the coast of southern Mozambique over the past 15 years. (8)

10. Some species chew their food

Biologists at the University of Toronto filmed freshwater rays chewing soft fish, shrimp and hard-shelled dragonfly nymphs using a high-speed camera. The findings suggest that both mammals and stingrays have developed similar food-breaking techniques independently of each other. Before that, it was believed that only mammals chew food. (9)

11. They lived at the same time as dinosaurs

In 2019, a team from the Institute of Paleontology of the University of Vienna discovered a fossilized stingray that is over 50 million years old. The study has provided new links to radiation caused by the aftermath of the Cretaceous mass extinction. Further molecular evidence suggests that modern skates diverged from their sister group during Late Jurassic , about 150 million years ago. (10)

Sebastian Condrea / Getty Images

12. Rays are different from manta rays (giant sea devil)

Although they are often placed in the same category, rays and manta rays are actually not the same thing. The mouth of the manta ray is along the front edge of its body, and that of the stingray is on the underside of its body. Manta rays also lack the characteristic stingray-like tail sting or barb and live in the open ocean rather than on the sea floor.

13. They can get quite big

In 2009, a giant freshwater stingray 4.26 meters long and weighing between 317 and 362 kilograms was caught and released in Thailand. The female stingray Himantura polylepis , one of the largest freshwater fish ever recorded, was also estimated to be between 35 and 40 years old. (11)

14. They can detect magnetic fields

Scientists conducted tests on yellow stingrays ( Urobatis jamaicensis ) in 2020 to prove that animals can use the Earth’s magnetic field to maintain a sense of direction while navigating in the environment . They found evidence that not only can rays detect changes in the geomagnetic field, but that they can use that field to their advantage by navigating and keeping their bearings while navigating. (12)

15. More than 25 stingray species are endangered

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists at least 26 stingray species as endangered. Most of the species are little known and their populations are also declining, making conservation efforts difficult. Among the endangered species is Pastinachus solocirostris , whose population has declined by 50–79% over the past 60 years due to exploitation and habitat loss. (13)

Rescue of endangered rays

• Although you are unlikely to encounter Pastinachus solocirostris , the best way to protect rays in general is to avoid being bitten. Practice shuffling your feet across the sand as you enter the water, where stingrays are common.
• Buy sustainable seafood and support an anti-overfishing policy.
• Reduce the amount of litter in the ocean by picking up after you on the beach and participating in the cleanup.
• Always treat wildlife with respect. Especially given the danger of wild stingrays, avoid chasing, feeding, and touching them in the wild.

Source

Gulnara Dadabayeva

Science writer, professional zoologist and educator with over 10 years of experience working with students, scientists and government experts. Freelance author of the site “Knowledge is Light”.

Rays

Contents

• 1 What are rays
• 2 Lifestyle of rays
• 3 What do rays eat
• 4 How do rays swim

9009 9 5 Reproduction of skates

• 5.1 Courtship dances
• 5.2 Mating
• 5.3 Breeding methods
• 6 Largest ray
• 7 Electrical sensitivity
• 8 Electric ray
• 9 Characteristics of rays
  • 9.1 Difference from flatfish
  • 9.2 Sawfish and angel shark
  • 9.3 Sea fox and stingray
• 10 Sharks and rays
• 11 Are rays dangerous for humans

Who are rays like sharks, they belong to cartilaginous fish. Their body shape is strongly flattened, and the fins have grown together with the head in the process of evolution. Another feature of their appearance is the tail, which resembles a long whip. Stingrays lead a benthic lifestyle. They live in all seas and oceans, even in cold ones – in the Arctic and Antarctic, but there are also freshwater species.

Lifestyle of rays

The flat body shape of rays is an adaptation to life on the seabed. This feature of the structure led to numerous changes in their body. Gill valves are located on the ventral side. At first glance, this seems strange, because in a stingray lying on sand or in silt, the gill slits should quickly become clogged and lead to the death of the animal. If not for one feature. On the upper side, the stingray has a pair of so-called sprinklers, which serve to let water in and out of the gills. At rest or when moving slowly forward, sprays are enough. But with an increase in the speed of movement, the gill valves are also included in the work.

What stingrays eat

Most stingrays swim slowly in deep water or move along the bottom in search of edible little things buried in sand and silt. Guitar Stingrays Prefer

• Lobsters
• lobsters
• oysters
• snails

Representative of guitar rays

They are the storm of all molluscs. If the stingray has been on the shallows, then it looks like a bulldozer has worked here. Smooth rays prefer flat fish such as

• sole
• flounder
• halibut

So stingrays, judging by their gastronomic preferences, are simply gourmets.

Eagle rays, photo from below

Spiny and eagle rays while moving, strike the bottom with their wide fins, raising turbidity, which is then filtered, leaving

• worms
• starfish
• small crustaceans
• shellfish

At the same time, they demonstrate a truly phenomenal olfactory, tactile and gustatory sensitivity.

In addition, among the 470 existing species of stingrays, which are usually grouped into four orders, there are amazing “specimens” that have mastered new food sources.

Spotted bracken

Spotted blue spiny rays reach a length of 2 m. They lie in wait for prey by burrowing into the ground. At night, the stingrays move to the shallow coastal waters, even representing a danger to bathers.

How stingrays swim

The flattening of the body also determined other structural features of stingrays: their pectoral fins merged with the body and head. The flattened sides took over the motor function, becoming like the wings of a large bird. Making amazingly graceful movements, the stingrays seem to soar in the water column. In case of danger, they increase the number of “wing flaps”. Stingrays are amazingly mobile animals, from a helicopter it is difficult to distinguish them from birds flying over water.

Unlike sharks, rays do not need tail fins to move. The tail, which has become unnecessary, performs completely different functions. It evolved into a self-defence whip: unusually thin, elastic, and also equipped (in some species of rays) with a poisonous sting, or “saw”, which is capable of causing serious damage to the enemy.

Blue-spotted stingray

Since stingrays, like sharks, do not have a swim bladder, they immediately sink to the bottom when they stop moving. For a deep sea lifestyle, this is a big advantage.

Stingrays sleep buried in sand or silt. They manage to stir up the water around them so much that they find themselves under a thick muddy layer, like under a blanket – the perfect disguise! Outside, only eyes and splashes are visible.

Reproduction of stingrays

Mating dances

The movements of stingrays are very similar to the mating flight of elves in slow motion. Their mating dances look just as harmonious.

A female stingray (weighing 60 to 90 kg, 3 m long and 1.5 m wide) is an imposing sight. The male (weighing only 13 kg) looks like an unsightly weakling against the backdrop of a powerful girlfriend. Despite this, she flirtatiously flirts with him, and they circle like huge butterflies for a long time. In scientific language, this is called mating readiness synchronization.

The male swims over the female, making rather comical attempts to squeeze between her powerful fins in order to turn his mighty bride onto her back. This only happens when the female is ready to mate.

Manta ray

Mating

During copulation, stingrays press against each other with their stomachs. This is a fairly rare occurrence among animals. This position for mating is caused by the flat structure of the body. Male stingrays, like sharks, have real copulatory organs; during mating, they introduce them into the female’s cloaca.

Reproduction methods

Like sharks, rays have different methods of reproduction. Some species lay eggs, others are viviparous. The former include real rays, such as:

• sea fox
• stingray
• smooth slope

to the second type –

• sawmill
• scat guitarist
• butterfly ray
• electric ramp
• eagle ray
• manta

A female bracken can produce up to 12 cubs in one litter. From the womb of the female, the cub comes out with the back of the body, while its long whip-shaped tail with a poisonous (still soft and elastic) sting is bent to the body. After a few hours, the sting hardens and becomes dangerous.

The original image of the Atlantic butterfly stingray, given in the book of C. Linnaeus “Systema Naturae”.

Baby stingrays even scare sharks, not to mention sea creatures like

• barracuda
• merow
• cephalopods
• cuttlefish

which do not touch juvenile skates.

Stingray eggs can be found on the coast of the North Sea. In some species of stingrays, the young hatch from an egg while still in the womb.

The largest stingray

Giant manta , or sea devil , is a specimen of movement in the aquatic environment. This is an extraordinary creation. Among them, specimens are known, the size of which can reach 7 m with a weight of 2 tons. It is difficult to find a more peaceful creature than a giant manta among marine life. Swimmers can safely be near her without fear for their lives, and even ride “on horseback”.

To grab onto a manta, you need to know a secret. Grab a few fish – stuck and let them stick to the manta. A person can only grab onto these “transport parasites” and enjoy the “trip”.

Manta

Manta has never attacked a person for no reason. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the person is not included in its “menu”.

Manta, like the whale shark, feeds on the smallest crustaceans that it catches from the water. However, once in the net, the stingray becomes extremely dangerous. He can show his temperament not only in an extreme situation. It happens that a manta ray jumps out of the water for no apparent reason, doing a full somersault. In difficult childbirth, such a somersault helps the female to resolve the burden.

MANTA, or SEA DEVIL, got its name from its menacing appearance. The fishermen, watching a manta ray accidentally caught in their nets, were surprised at how aggressive its behavior can be. In addition, the mouth of the sea devil looks like two horns, which is somehow associated with the devil. In reality, these horns are only a means of controlling the flow of prey in the water.

An image of a giant manta ray for the description of a species called Cephalopterus vampyrus

The largest shark species in existence is the whale shark. In stingrays, manta rays are larger than all others.

Sensitivity to electricity

Sensitivity to electrical signals is characteristic not only of sharks, but also of rays. With their eyes located on the upper side of the body, they cannot see the prey swimming under them. I must say that the organs of touch, smell and taste in stingrays are very well developed. Nevertheless, organs that perceive electrical impulses play a decisive role in catching prey. The stingray is able to pick up electrical signals resulting from the contraction of the muscles of a potential victim buried deep in the sand.

Electric ray

Electric ray, reaching a length of 1.8 meters, got its name because its body is able to generate an electric current of 200 volts and a power of 2000 watts, paralyzing and sometimes killing its prey. Much of his musculature had been transformed from organs of locomotion into generators of electricity. Thousands of individual muscles are electrified one after another, creating a kind of voltaic arc. The result is an electrical discharge of high, deadly voltage.

Common electric ray

Features of rays

Difference from flat fish

Flat fish are similar to rays, and yet there are significant differences between them. For example, a flounder lies on its side, not on its belly. Her eyes are located on the upper side of her torso. In the stingray, the eyes are much further from the edge of the body. This is how the flattening of bottom fish occurred: the slope is flattened in the dorsal-ventral direction, and the flounder is flattened from the sides.

The presence of numerous spines on the back and tail is a characteristic feature of the spiny-tailed stingray.

The sawbeak and angel shark

The sawbeam is very similar to the angel shark. Scientists consider this species to be a transitional species between sharks and stingrays. He can also deliver a side kick. He uses the saw when attacking prey and in self-defense.

Atlantic sawfish in the aquarium of Atlanta

In contrast to the 1.6-meter saw-nosed shark, the small saw-nosed ray has a length of 2.5 to 6 m and weighs about 2 tons. Its elongated snout in the form of an elongated blades, on the sides of which there are 2 rows of large tooth-like outgrowths 3 cm long each.

Having such a formidable “weapon”, the predator boldly torpedoes a flock of fish, swinging the “saw” to the right and left, killing or injuring several representatives and immediately swallowing them. Even sharks are afraid of him.

Sea fox and stingray

Sea fox up to 1 m long, sometimes confused with stingray . This stingray is found in the Mediterranean, North and Baltic Seas. In fish stores and markets, they are sold under the name “sea trout”. They do not have a poisonous sting, but the skin is covered with curved back at an angle of 90 degrees with large (up to 3 cm long) skin teeth, rather sharp. Defending itself from the enemy, the sea fox can seriously injure the skin of a person encountered on its way.

Sharks and rays

Actually, sharks are afraid of rays. They usually don’t attack them. But some sharks do attack stingrays, such as the polar shark, which reaches a length of 7 m. It hunts in polar waters, and many stingrays become its victims. By the way, they are also willingly devoured by tiger sharks. The spiny stingray uses its weapons solely for defensive purposes. If you accidentally step on him, he will instantly dig into your leg.

Are stingrays dangerous for humans

“Put on swimming slippers,” the instructor usually recommends to tourists, “if you don’t want to suffer from prickly stingrays.” Let’s see if this advice is worth listening to.

Rays often burrow into the seabed. Their bites are very venomous. The 10-centimeter sting of a prickly stingray is located in the middle of a long, whip-like tail. If you step on a stingray with your foot, “the harpoon flies out rapidly,” and the sting falls not into the foot, but into the calf muscle of a person. Therefore, bathing slippers are completely useless and it is better to walk on the bottom barefoot: this will at least scare away the stingrays, and they will move away.

Rays usually do not attack a person, unless, of course, he himself provokes them. The stingray is an extremely peaceful creature, but its bite can be fatal.

A stingray attacks a person

If he feels danger, he will use his terrible weapon. The sting contains venom glands and a hook. When attacked, it remains in the victim’s body, releasing poison. If the victim is not immediately provided with medical assistance, he will die. Even more dangerous is a stingray bite for young children.

The spiny stingray, reaching 2.5 m in length and 1.