What are the dangers of stingray encounters. How do stingray stings affect the human body. What medical treatments are available for stingray wounds. How can stingray venom be used in drug development. Why are stingray migrations significant for beachgoers.

The Anatomy of a Stingray Sting: A Personal Account

Stingray encounters can turn a leisurely beach day into a medical emergency. One such incident occurred in the Florida Keys, where a casual swim led to a painful six-week recovery. The victim, wading in the warm waters of Bahia Honda Key, experienced a sharp pinch that quickly escalated to intense pain, swelling, and discoloration of the foot.

Despite taking precautions like the “stingray shuffle” – a technique where beachgoers drag their feet across the seafloor to alert marine life – the sting occurred. This highlights the importance of constant vigilance in areas known for stingray presence.

Symptoms of a Stingray Sting

• Initial sharp pinch or pain
• Rapid swelling of the affected area
• Increasing pain intensity
• Discoloration (e.g., blue tint) of the affected limb
• Potential for prolonged recovery period

Medical Response and Treatment for Stingray Wounds

How is a stingray sting typically treated? The immediate medical response often involves pain management and wound care. In the case described, treatment included:

1. Hospital assessment
2. Pain medication
3. Antibiotics to prevent infection
4. Ongoing wound care

It’s worth noting that the hospital reported multiple stingray sting cases from the same location on that day, indicating a potential migration or increased stingray activity in the area.

The Science Behind Stingray Venom

What makes stingray venom so potent? Chemical biologist Mandë Holford from Hunter College describes the effect of stingray venom as a “cluster bomb” in the human body. The venom contains 200 to 300 different toxins, each evolved over millennia to incapacitate prey or defend against predators.

These toxins target various bodily systems, including:

• Blood
• Brain
• Cell membranes

The toxins work by invading the body, rupturing cell membranes, and causing widespread damage. This explains the intense pain and rapid onset of symptoms experienced by sting victims.

Stingray Migrations: A Hidden Danger for Beachgoers

Why do stingray encounters sometimes increase in certain areas? Stingray migrations can significantly impact the safety of popular beach destinations. In the case of Bahia Honda Key, the nurse at the emergency room mentioned that stingrays were migrating through the area, leading to an increase in sting incidents.

These migrations can be influenced by various factors:

• Seasonal changes
• Water temperature fluctuations
• Food availability
• Breeding patterns

Understanding these migration patterns can help local authorities and beachgoers take appropriate precautions during high-risk periods.

From Venom to Medicine: The Potential of Stingray Toxins

Can something as painful as stingray venom have medical benefits? Surprisingly, animal venoms, including those from stingrays, are increasingly sought after for drug development. The very properties that make these toxins dangerous also make them potentially valuable in medicine.

Currently, there are seven FDA-approved drugs derived from venom toxins on the market. These drugs leverage the highly specific and potent nature of venom components to target various medical conditions.

Potential Applications of Venom-Derived Drugs

• Pain management
• Cardiovascular treatments
• Neurological disorders
• Cancer therapies

The study of venom for medical purposes, known as venomics, is an exciting field that may lead to groundbreaking treatments in the future.

Prevention and Safety: Avoiding Stingray Encounters

How can beachgoers protect themselves from stingray stings? While completely eliminating the risk of stingray encounters is challenging, there are several precautions that can significantly reduce the danger:

1. Practice the “stingray shuffle” when entering shallow waters
2. Be aware of local marine life and any reported stingray activity
3. Wear protective footwear designed for aquatic environments
4. Avoid areas with murky water where stingrays may be less visible
5. Pay attention to warning signs and flags at beaches

It’s important to note that even with precautions, accidents can still occur. The victim in our account was wearing protective reef boots and waders, yet the stingray’s barb penetrated these defenses.

Long-term Effects and Recovery from Stingray Stings

What can sting victims expect during their recovery? The healing process from a stingray sting can be lengthy and uncomfortable. In the case described, the recovery period lasted six weeks and involved various challenges:

• Use of crutches for mobility
• Ongoing pain management
• Antibiotic treatment to prevent infection
• Development of a severe rash

The risk of infection is a significant concern with stingray wounds. Proper wound care is crucial to prevent secondary infections, which can be serious complications of stingray stings.

Recommended Wound Care for Stingray Stings

1. Regular cleaning with soap and water (4 times daily)
2. Application of hydrogen peroxide
3. Iodine irrigation
4. Use of triple antibiotic ointment
5. Keeping the wound covered and dry

Vigilant wound care and close monitoring for signs of infection are essential throughout the recovery process.

The Impact of Stingray Stings on Marine Tourism

How do stingray incidents affect coastal communities and tourism? While stingray encounters are relatively rare, they can have a significant impact on beach tourism and local economies. Incidents like the one at Bahia Honda Key, where multiple sting cases were reported in a single day, can lead to:

• Temporary beach closures
• Increased safety measures and patrols
• Public awareness campaigns
• Potential decrease in tourist visits

Coastal communities often need to balance the need for public safety with the desire to maintain their appeal as tourist destinations. This can involve implementing education programs, improving signage, and developing rapid response protocols for sting incidents.

Stingray Conservation and Human Interaction

Are stingrays endangered by human activity, despite the risks they pose? While stingrays can cause painful injuries to humans, it’s important to consider the impact of human activity on stingray populations. Many species of stingrays face threats from:

• Overfishing
• Habitat destruction
• Climate change
• Pollution

Conservation efforts are crucial to maintaining healthy stingray populations, which play important roles in marine ecosystems. Balancing human safety with stingray conservation often involves:

1. Establishing protected marine areas
2. Implementing fishing regulations
3. Conducting research on stingray behavior and habitats
4. Educating the public about stingray conservation and safe interaction

By understanding and respecting these marine creatures, we can work towards coexistence that benefits both humans and stingrays.

Advancements in Stingray Sting Treatment

What new methods are being developed to treat stingray stings? Medical research continues to improve our ability to manage and treat stingray injuries. Some recent advancements include:

• Development of more effective antivenoms
• Improved pain management techniques
• Enhanced wound cleaning and debridement methods
• Use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for severe cases

These advancements aim to reduce recovery time, minimize complications, and improve overall outcomes for sting victims.

Emerging Technologies in Sting Prevention

In addition to treatment advancements, new technologies are being developed to prevent stingray encounters:

1. Underwater drone patrols to monitor stingray activity
2. AI-powered image recognition systems for early warning
3. Advanced protective gear for water sports enthusiasts
4. Mobile apps providing real-time updates on marine life presence

While these technologies show promise, they are still in various stages of development and implementation.

The Role of Climate Change in Stingray Behavior and Distribution

How is climate change affecting stingray populations and human encounters? As global temperatures rise and ocean conditions change, stingray behavior and distribution patterns are also shifting. This can lead to:

• Changes in migration routes and timing
• Expansion or contraction of stingray habitats
• Alterations in breeding and feeding behaviors
• Increased likelihood of human-stingray interactions in new areas

Understanding these changes is crucial for predicting and managing stingray encounters in coastal areas. Researchers are working to model these shifts and provide data to coastal management authorities.

The Psychological Impact of Stingray Encounters

Beyond the physical effects, how do stingray stings impact victims psychologically? The trauma of a stingray encounter can have lasting psychological effects, including:

• Development of aquaphobia or thalassophobia (fear of the sea)
• Post-traumatic stress symptoms
• Anxiety about future beach visits
• Reduced enjoyment of water-based activities

Addressing these psychological impacts is an important part of the holistic treatment of stingray sting victims. Support groups, counseling, and gradual exposure therapy can be beneficial in helping individuals overcome fears and trauma associated with their experience.

Stingray Tourism: Balancing Excitement and Safety

Can stingrays be a tourist attraction despite the risks they pose? In some areas, stingray encounters have become popular tourist activities. These controlled interactions aim to educate the public and promote conservation while ensuring safety. Common practices include:

1. Guided snorkeling or diving tours in stingray habitats
2. Feeding experiences in shallow water
3. Touch tanks at aquariums featuring de-barbed rays

While these activities can provide valuable educational experiences, they also raise ethical concerns about wildlife interaction and potential stress on the animals. Strict guidelines and monitoring are necessary to balance tourism benefits with animal welfare and human safety.

The Future of Stingray Research and Management

What direction is stingray research taking, and how will it impact human-stingray interactions? Ongoing and future research into stingrays focuses on several key areas:

• Detailed mapping of stingray populations and migration patterns
• Genetic studies to understand stingray diversity and evolution
• Development of more effective and less invasive tagging methods
• Investigation of stingray venom components for medical applications
• Assessment of the impact of climate change on stingray behavior and distribution

This research will inform future management strategies, potentially leading to more effective prevention of stingray encounters and improved treatment methods for sting victims.

Collaborative Efforts in Stingray Management

Effective stingray management requires collaboration between various stakeholders:

1. Marine biologists and researchers
2. Local and national government agencies
3. Tourism industry representatives
4. Conservation organizations
5. Medical professionals specializing in marine injuries

By bringing together expertise from these diverse fields, comprehensive strategies can be developed to address the complex issues surrounding human-stingray interactions.

As our understanding of stingrays grows and management techniques evolve, we can hope for a future where humans and stingrays coexist more harmoniously, with reduced risk of painful encounters and greater appreciation for these fascinating marine creatures.

Local man gets stung by stingray at Jamaica Beach in Galveston

Local News

Briana Edwards, Digital Contributor

Published: May 25, 2020, 11:41 AM

Tags: Local, New Caney, Sting Ray

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Briana Edwards, Digital Contributor

132Z”>Published: May 25, 2020, 11:41 AM

Tags: Local, New Caney, Sting Ray

Stingrays (Pixabay)

Lowell Shapley of New Caney was fishing when he accidentally stepped into a deep hole where a stingray was at Jamaica Beach in Galveston.

In response to a comment on his Facebook post, Shapley said the incident was caused by bad luck and bad timing.

Despite wearing protective reef boots and waders, he says the stingray went through the boot and a layer of neoprene.

“Had a fish in my hands after a fight. Had the water muddied around me so couldn’t see and moved sideways right into a deep hole where he was laid up. The few seconds I had my guard down was all it took,” Shapley said in response to a comment on his Facebook post.

Immediately after being stung, Shapley called a friend to his rescue.

“I was in the marsh and had an excruciating walk back to the boat. Got to shore and called a friend close that came over with an icechest full of scalding water,” Shapley said on Facebook.

When asked to rate his pain on a scale of 1-10, Shapley says it’s a 9.2 – 9.4.

Shapley says he’s doing everything he can to get past the infection risk and secondary infections are concerning.

“I have washed it with soap and water religiously 4 times per day, followed by peroxide, iodine irrigation, and covered with a triple ointment,” Shapley wrote on Facebook. “No signs of infection thank god, which is a very serious danger with a stingray injury.”

Copyright 2020 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.

About the Author:

Briana Edwards

I got stung by a stingray, and all I got was this deeper understanding of venom medicine | NOVA

Three years ago, wading in the sun-warmed waters of the Florida Keys, I felt a sharp pinch and looked down at my feet in surprise. My friend Jen and I had driven down from Miami for a weekend full of strong Cuban coffee and Hemingway’s six-toed cats. Tempted by water so warm and aquamarine it was almost a cliche, we had stopped to swim at a roadside beach on Bahia Honda Key. I had eased in, careful to drag my feet slowly across the seafloor in a dance known to beachgoers as the “stingray shuffle,” hoping to alert any local sealife to my approach. But not careful enough. 

My foot throbbing, I stumbled back to the beach toward Jen, who wondered if I might have stepped on some glass. But in the next half hour, as my ankle and foot ballooned and the pain ratcheted up—from stinging to aching, from aching to bone breaking—it became clear I must have been stung by something. Then my foot started to turn blue, and we drove to the hospital.

“Bahia Honda?” the nurse said. “You’re the fourth person to come in with a stingray sting from there today.”

The pain didn’t subside until the next day, when my foot had returned to its normal color. That was the start of a six-week recovery, which also involved crutches, painkillers, heavy-duty antibiotics, and a horrible rash. I wouldn’t wish the experience—which involves a level of discomfort that some have compared to a gunshot wound—on anyone. But in retrospect, it’s an interesting one to consider. Because, it turns out, animal venoms like the one coursing through my veins on Bahia Honda Key are sought after for drug development, with seven FDA-approved drugs derived from venom toxins on the market so far. Harnessing their power to hurt opens up a world of possibilities for healing.

The Bahia Honda beach where the author had a run-in with a stingray. Image Credit: Giuseppe Milo, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Chemical biologist Mandë Holford, who studies venom science at her lab at Hunter College, compares what was happening in my foot in the moment after the sting to a “cluster bomb.” The toxins in animal venom have been engineered by evolution over many millennia to incapacitate by affecting some component in the blood, brain, or cell membranes, she says. “You’re getting invaded with 200 to 300 different toxins, all trying to figure out how to reach their target, moving through and rupturing cell membranes, doing all sorts of damage. ”

The nurse at the emergency room told me stingrays were migrating through the area, their path bringing them close to the cove where I went wading. Stingrays deliver their venom through one or more serrated barbs that lie along their tails. While at rest, a stingray keeps its barb tucked away, immunologist Carla Lima told me in an email. But when it feels threatened—say, by the feet of a clueless human out for a swim—it pushes its tail perpendicular to its body, puncturing that human’s flesh with its venom-laden spine.

Lima studies toxins in venomous fish at the Butantan Institute in São Paolo, Brazil. Her research into stingray venom has shown that what’s in that venom actually changes as a stingray matures. In the freshwater species she studies—whose venom properties are better explored than the marine stingray that got me—the venom of young rays tends to contain toxins that cause pain to the target. Lima hypothesizes this may be to chase predators away. In contrast, the toxins in adult venom have a necrotizing effect, meaning they destroy tissue, which would be helpful for hunting.

Peptides, short chains of amino acids that play key roles in the biological functions of all kinds of organisms, make up a large part of most animal venoms—and some are only found in those venoms. Lima and other researchers have identified the peptides porflan and orpotrin as two of the elements in the freshwater stingray’s toxic cocktail, along with a number of different proteases, which are enzymes that break down peptides. 

As I sat cradling my foot on the beach in Bahia Honda, similar proteases and related proteins worked to break down the structure of cells in my heel, helping the venom spread further, and to prompt an inflammatory reaction that led to the swelling I saw. The peptides, on the other hand, likely caused the arteries to constrict and blood to pool, creating more inflammation and blocking circulation—perhaps the cause of my foot turning blue.

A southern stingray (Dasyatis americana) cruises the ocean floor off Grand Turk Island in the Caribbean. Image Credit: Nate Madden, Shutterstock

That a substance that causes so much pain and wreaks so much biological havoc can be used in medicine is what Holford calls “the yin and yang of nature.” And the fact that damage and healing are, at least in this case, two sides of the same coin forms the basis for the work she does in her lab, identifying new drug applications for various components of animal venom.

Venoms have great potential to contribute to drug development because they are both potent and highly targeted, Holford says, with peptides that fit physically into cell receptors and change how those cells function. Thanks to this dynamic, venom-based drugs can work almost instantaneously. And they’re not what people in the pharmaceutical business call “leaky,” meaning they tend to only act on the intended cell component and don’t stop at other spots along the way causing side effects.

Most stingray venom research, like Lima’s, takes place in areas where stingrays pose a threat to people: tropical spots like Brazil and Australia. On a drug-development level, we still don’t know much about it, Lima says. But we do know a lot about other venoms—in particular those created by cone snails and snakes.

For one thing, not all venom toxins cause pain. Some peptides present in snake venom focus on manipulating proteins in the wound so blood flows freely, acting as natural anticoagulants. Other peptides in Gila monster venom promote insulin production, helpful for a hungry lizard that hasn’t eaten for awhile. And yet other peptides in cone-snail venom do the opposite of what stingray venom does: paralyze and suppress pain, keeping the snail’s prey from going into fight-or-flight mode and slowing it down until the (also slow) snail can come nab it for a snack.

This last type of venom is one of the focuses at Holford’s lab. Many cone-snail venom peptides are rich in cysteine amino acids, whose structure she compares to Velcro. That makes it relatively easy for them to stick in the hourglass-shaped pores on the surface of cells that let important minerals like sodium, calcium, and potassium flow in and out. The free movement of those minerals is part of how cells talk to each other. 

With those channels shut down, neurons can’t communicate with one another to indicate pain. That’s what makes Prialt, the commercial version of the cone snail’s ziconotide peptide, an effective pain medication. Holford and her colleagues are also exploring the potential of other related cone-snail peptides to help dampen signals firing too fast in someone having a heart attack or an epileptic seizure.

She even sees possible applications here for cancer treatment. Current chemotherapy regimens “don’t discriminate between normal cells and tumor,” she says. But because venom peptides work on specific receptors—receptors that some tumors grow too many of as part of their development—they could help create a cancer drug that specifically starves cancer cells of essential minerals, stopping their growth.

The saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) is one of the deadliest snakes in India, and its venom is the basis of the blood-thinning drug Tirofiban. Image Credit: Sagar Khunte, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The venom that nearly ruined my Florida Keys vacation (though I still got to enjoy some beautiful sunsets, and the seafood was fantastic) was incredibly sophisticated, honed by evolution to inflict pain and physiological damage with laser precision. It was almost comforting to learn this in the weeks after, as I hobbled around on my crutches and watched with fascinated disgust as the wound developed a stingray-shaped blister. (My boyfriend said it was a sign I was developing superpowers, but sad to say none appeared.)

“We know from nature that these peptides work,” Holford says. “What we don’t know is massive: where they work, how they work, how effective they are. And that’s a huge game of ‘Where’s Waldo.’” Holford and her colleagues have come up with a protocol for finding new venom components that have potential in drug applications, then figuring out how to get them there. The first step is a practical look at the natural world: identifying which animal species are creating venom, especially venom that can be extracted manually. Next, the team uses new technologies that Holford refers to as the “omics”— genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics—to identify the toxins within those venoms, by examining the instructions the animals’ DNA and RNA contain and the proteins built by following those instructions.

From there, the team is able to use that genetic code to manufacture more of a chosen peptide in the lab, which is especially useful when it comes to studying venoms that are produced in small quantities in nature. They then test the synthetic toxin on the animal’s natural prey to make sure it’s effective and further tweak it to ensure it’s as specifically targeted as it can be for humans. And finally, they start to think about drug delivery. Does this drug need to cross the blood-brain barrier? Would it work if administered orally? These are essential questions, since potential drugs that can’t be delivered effectively can’t really be drugs at all.

Much like the experience of the sting itself, the possibilities for new drugs here are dizzying. Most venom-based drugs on the market are derived from a single peptide. But my stingray’s venom (just like other naturally occurring venoms) featured hundreds of peptides. And with the advent of the “omics,” drug development with venom has become more efficient. Time- and resource-intensive experiments can now be run much more quickly using computer modeling, making the whole process more viable and opening up a whole world of drug prospects.

Lima and her colleagues in Brazil, for example, are continuing to explore the realm of fish venom. One synthetic peptide derived from the venom of a species of toadfish shows particular promise. A 2017 study suggested that peptide, known as TnP, has powerful anti-inflammatory and therapeutic effects in mice. Effects that could potentially help stem the autoimmune reactions that lead to spinal cord damage in patients with multiple sclerosis.

As Holford and her team navigate the new technological landscape, they’re also looking for ways to simplify their process. One innovation Holford is excited about is organoids, in this case, venom glands grown independently in a laboratory. Growing organoids would make acquiring venom samples much easier, she says, and would not require sacrificing an animal for the initial sample. 

That’s especially important with climate change and habitat loss fueling a looming biodiversity collapse that could take with it undiscovered venoms with the capacity to heal. “In 10 years we’re heading toward this major shift that’s coming if we don’t change our attitudes and lifestyle,” she says. “We could lose a lot of things on the planet that are potentially lifesaving.”

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Stingrays (Rajomorphii) photo, physique color dimensions body shape eyes habitat distribution feed breeding stingrays wings economic importance, abstract report for school class stingrays

Superorder stingrays includes about a hundred species of stingrays of various sizes (length from 50 cm to 4. 5-7 m and body width from 30 cm to 5-7 m; the weight of the largest species can reach 2 tons). Representatives of the superorder belong to elasmobranch cartilaginous fishes. A distinctive feature is that 5-6 pairs of gill slits lie on the ventral side of the body, and the spiracles lie on the dorsal side, immediately behind the eyes. Rays have a relatively flat body with large pectoral fins that fuse with the head. The body of is diamond-shaped or, more rarely, oval, and only the sawfish resembles a shark in body shape. The lower side of the body of the stingray has a light shade, there are five paired gills, a mouth and nostrils on it. The skin is covered with small tooth-like enamel protrusions (teeth). Color top matches stingray habitat (varies from black to light grey). Teeth usually have the form of low prisms, tightly adjacent to each other and forming a powerful “grater”. There is no anal fin.

Fine-toothed sawfish (Pristis microdon)

The ray has a whip-shaped tail. In many species, approximately in the middle of the caudal peduncle, there is one (rarely two) long (in large species – up to 30-35 cm!) Flattened horn needle with a sharp apex and serrated edges. On the lower surface of the needle there is a groove lined with glandular cells that secrete a poisonous mucous secretion. When attacked by an enemy (apparently, mainly sharks), the stingray hits him with his tail, inflicting deep lacerations with a needle; the secret getting into the wound causes a sharp pain. Stingrays usually lie on a sandy or muddy bottom, half-burrowed into the ground. If a person accidentally steps on a stingray, then he immediately begins to fight back with his tail. When even a small amount of poison gets into the wounds, in addition to sharp pain, blood pressure drops, vomiting begins, muscle paralysis; deaths are also known. Electric stingrays have a special organ made from a bundle of transformed muscles that produces electrical discharges to paralyze prey (for protective purposes). Characteristics of discharges – 60-230 Volts, more than 30 Amps.

Manta, or giant sea devil (Manta birostris)

Various species of rays, widespread from the subpolar to the tropical zone. Most species of these animals can be found exclusively in sea water, but some live in fresh water.

They feed on echinoderms, molluscs, crustaceans. The menu of large pelagic rays includes plankton and small fish.

Related article
Interesting facts about sharks

Taeniura lymma

Rays reproduce by laying eggs or live birth. The rays of some families have special villi in the uterus (known as trophotenia) that additionally nourish the embryo. A well-known species of the superorder Stingrays are manta rays, which are also known as giant sea devils. In addition, many who are interested in wildlife are familiar with large species from the bracken and stingray families. Residents of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and some other countries are more familiar with sea cats from the Azov and Black Seas.

Striped stingray (Trygonorrhina fasciata)

Common in tropical and subtropical seas, rare in temperate latitudes. live in shallow waters, but there are also deep-water forms. Sedentary fish living on the bottom or near the bottom, often burrowing partially or completely in silt or woods. They go to the mouths of the rivers. Several species of river rays (Potamotrygon) live in the Amazon and other rivers in Brazil and Paraguay.

Electric ray (Torpedo marmorata)

Stingray wings are used as a raw material for a delicacy in Portuguese cuisine. Recently, stingrays have been used as a raw material for the production of fishmeal. In ancient Japan, the skin of these animals was used to wind the handles of katana, as it is strong and durable. In the modern world of leather, bags, wallets, briefcases, belts and other leather goods are produced. In ancient times, the special properties of electric rays were used for anesthesia in medicine.

Short-tailed gnus (Hypnos monopterygius)

Systematics of the superorder Skates:

• Order/Order: Myliobatiformes = Stingray figurines
  
  • Superfamily: Myliobatoidea =
    
    • Family: Gymnuridae Fowler, 1934 = Gymnuridae, rays – butterflies
      
      • Genus: Aetoplatea = Etoplatei
      • Genus: Gymnura van Hasselt, 1823 = Gymnuras
        
        • Species: Gymnura altavela Linnaeus, 1758 = Butterfly stingray
        • Species: Gymnura bimaculata Norman, 1925 =
        • Species: Gymnura japonica Schlegel, 1850 = Japanese butterfly ray

    9006 1 Family: Myliobatidae = Eagle rays

    • Subfamily: Mobulinae = Manta rays
      
      • Genus: Manta Bancroft, 1829 = Mantas
      • Genus: Mobula Rafinesque, 1810 = Mobuls, stags
    • Subfamily: Myliobatinae =
      
      • Genus: Aetobat us Blainville, 1816 = Spotted eagles
      • Genus: Aetomylaeus = Flying rays
      • Genus: Myliobatis Cuvier, 1817 = Brackets
      • Genus: Pteromylaeus = Winged eagles
    • Subfamily: Rhinopterinae =
      
      • Genus: Rhinoptera = Bulls
    • Family: Rhinopteridae =
  • Superfamily: Plesiobatoidea =
    
    • Family: Hexatrygonidae = Sixgill rays
    • Family: Plesiobatidae =
• Order/Order: Pristiformes = Sawfish
  
  • Family: Pristidae Müller et Henle = Sawfish rays
    
    • Genus: Anoxypristis White & Moy-Thomas, 1941 = Asian sawfish
      
      • Species: Anoxypristis cuspidata Latham, 1794 = Saw-nosed ray
    • Genus: Pristis Klein, 1776 = Sawfish
      
      • Species: Pristis pectinata Latham, 1794 = sawfish
• • Family: Dasyatidae Jordan & Gilbert, 1879 = Stingrays
    
    • Subfamily: Dasyatinae Jordan & Gilbert, 1879 =
      
      • Genus: Dasyatis Rafinesque, 1810 = Sea cats
      • Genus: Pteroplatytrygon =
    • Subfamily: Hypolophinae Stromer, 1910 =
    • Genus: Makararaja =
    • Subfamily: Neotrygoninae Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto, 2016 =
      
      90 061 Genus: Neotrygon =
      • Genus: Taeniura =
    • Genus: Pastinachus =
    • Subfamily: Styracurinae Carvalho, Loboda & Silva, 2016 =
    • Subfamily: Urogymninae Gray, 1851 =
      
      • Genus: Himantura M üller & Henle, 1837 = Himantura stingrays
      • Genus: Urogymnus =
    • Genus: Urolophoides Lindberg, 1930 = Urolophoides stingrays, stingrays
      
      • Species: Urolophoides giganteus Lindberg, 19 30 = Giant stingray
      • Species: Urolophoides matsubarai Miyosi, 1939 = Matsubara stingray
      • Species: Urolophoides multispinosus Tokarev, 1959 = Multispined stingray
  • Family: Potamotrygonidae Garman, 1877 = River stingray
    
    • Genus: Heliotrygon =
    • Genus: Paratrygon =
    • Genus: Plesiotrygon =
    • Genus: Potamotrygon = River stingrays
  • Family: Urolophidae Müller and Henle, 1841 = Short-tailed stingrays, thick-tailed rays stingrays
    
    • Genus: Urolophus =
    • Genus: Urotrygon Müller et Henle, 1837 = Urolophus, paddletails, short-tailed stingrays
      
      • Species: Urolophus aurantiacus Muller et He nle, 1841 = Orange-red paddletail
• Superfamily: Rajoidea =
  
  • Family: Rajidae Bonaparte = Rhomboid rays
    
    • Subfamily Genesis: Arhynchobatinae =
      
      • Genus: Arhynchobatis =
      • Genus: Atlantoraja =
      • Genus: Bathyraja Ishiyama, 1958 = Deep sea rays
      • Genus: Brochiraja =
      • Genus: Irolita =
      • Genus: Notoraja Ishiyama, 1958 =
      • Genus: Pavoraja =
      • Genus: Psammobatis =
      • Genus: Pseudoraja =
      • Genus: Rhinoraja =
      • Genus: Rioraja Whitley , 1939 =
      • Genus: Sympterygia =
    • Subfamily : Rajinae =
      
      • Genus: Amblyraja Malm, 1877 13
      • Genus: Breviraja Bigelow et Schroeder, 1948 = Light-nosed rays
      • Genus: Cruiraja =
      • Genus: Dactylobatus =
      • Genus: Dipturus Rafinesque, 1810 =
      • Genus: Fenestraja =
      • Genus: Gurgesiella =
      • Genus: Leucoraja Malm, 1877 =
      • Genus: Malacoraja =
      • Genus: Neoraja =
      • Genus: Okamejei Ishiyama, 1958 = 9001 3
      • Genus: Raja Linnaeus, 1758 = Stingrays
      • Genus: Rajella Stehmann, 1970 = Deep sea rays =
• Superfamily: Rhinobatoidea =
  
  • Family: Rhinobatidae Bonaparte, 1835 = Dead rays
    
    • Subfamily: Platyrhininae =
      
      • Genus: Platyrhina Mullet et Henle, 1838 = Chinese disc rays, platyrinae
      • Genus: Platyrhinoidis =
      • Genus: Zanobatus =
    • Subfamily: Rhininae =
      
      • Genus: Rhina Bloch & Schneider, 1801 = Rohli
    • Subfamily: Rhinobatinae =
      
      • Genus: Aptychotrema = Dead rays
      • Genus: Glaucostegus = Glaucostegus
      • Genus: Rhinobatos Link, 1790 = Guitar rays, or guitar players
      • Genus: Tarsistes =
      • Genus: Trygonorrhina J. P. Müller & Henle, 1838 = Striped dead rays
      • Genus: Zapteryx = Short-snouted guitar rays
    • Subfamily genus: Rhynchobatinae =
      
      • Genus: Rhynchobatus Mullet et Henle, 1837 = Sharktails, or Rhynchobaths

Species: Dasyatis pastinaca Linnaeus, 1758 = Sea cat, or stingray

Literature:
1. Naumov NP, Kartashev NN Zoology of Vertebrates. – Part 2. – Reptiles, birds, mammals: A textbook for biologist. specialist. Univ. – M.: Higher. school, 1979. – 272 p., ill.
2. Myagkov N. A. Atlas-identifier of fish: Book. for students.- M.: Education, 1994.-282 p.: il

Tags:
fish, cartilaginous fish, rays, fish with the letter c, animals with the letter c

Black Sea rays

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Walking along the Black Sea coast near Anapa, one can quite often observe such a picture – children, and sometimes adults, something not big, living, flat and diamond-shaped, somewhat similar to a flounder, swimming near the bottom, trying to fit it to the shore and throw it on the sand. Or – a guy wanders knee-deep in water, peers into the depths and suddenly hooks on the pitchfork with which he had just removed the damask, something gray in spots and with a light belly . .. Dangerous fun and fishing! The holidaymakers, without knowing it, hunt the sea fox – one of the varieties of the Black Sea stingray.

• Why are stingrays dangerous?

  Why are stingrays dangerous?

  Not all marine life is safe, some can cause significant harm to human health. You should know more about them.

I must say that the meat of the sea fox is not particularly tasty, and its skin is not very convenient to fiddle with – it, like the long tail, is covered in thorns, by negligence you can get seriously injured on it, and then you will need trouble with treatment. This kind of stingray is also called differently – prickly. However, it is found not only in the Black and Azov Seas, it is distributed throughout the World Ocean, including off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in the sea waters of North Africa and Europe, and in the northwest of the Indian Ocean. There is only one benefit from the fox stingray – its liver, which heals wounds, has healing properties. Well, meat – they are more interested in gourmets who have the skills to cook dishes from this type of fish.

You can meet a stingray not only when hunting for it, but also just walking in shallow places – he stepped on by chance and injured his leg on one of the many sharp spikes. The sea foxes themselves practically do not fall on people. When bathers approach, they tend to quickly get out of the way, and then lie down on the bottom and even sprinkle themselves with their loved ones in order to become less noticeable.

The sea fox reproduces by laying eggs, the number of which during the summer can exceed fifty or sixty. Fish come to spawn in the spring, juveniles hatch, as a rule, in the summer. In this case, the eggs mature in four to five months. And in autumn, the slopes swim to a depth of up to a hundred meters. The sea fox feeds on anchovy or other small fish, crustaceans, and does not disdain a variety of worms. Lives in the world for up to ten years. There are up to 130 species of sea foxes in the world’s oceans. Black Sea reach a length of 45-60 centimeters.

Found in sea waters near Anapa is another, more dangerous species of stingray, the so-called stingray or otherwise – a sea cat. Its meat is also not very tasty, but the liver is valuable, rich in vitamin D and also capable of healing wounds. The stingray is a marine inhabitant, one of the viviparous. It can give offspring of up to 12 or more individuals and is a relative of sharks. The stingray has no sides – only the belly and back. In length grows up to one and a half meters with a tail of twenty centimeters. The latter is his sword-weapon, moreover, equipped with poison. On the way of a stingray – a sea cat is better not to get caught and God forbid to step on it, lurking at the bottom. Swinging his tail with numerous notches on it, he is able to inflict a deep and serious wound. True, so far no one has died from such. But the process of treatment is very painful and long. So it’s better not to mess with a sea cat and stay away from him, as if from a sin. By the way, the sea cat, like the sea fox, is also shy. It also seeks to avoid communication with a person, to swim away and burrow into the sand. But if you are importunate – be sure, you will not say hello. Nature has tried a lot, cultivating a stingray. His body has no bones and rests on a cartilaginous skeleton – from the tip of the tail to the head. Sometimes his formidable poisonous sword reaches seventy centimeters, and the stingray itself extends up to two meters and weighs about twenty kilograms. But such large individuals are not found off the coast of Anapa – they live in other parts of the oceans. As for other types of stingrays, except for ours, the Black Sea ones, many of the lovers of water activities have heard a lot about them. Let’s say a stingray is a sawfish. Also a relative of the shark. The sizes are gigantic – up to six meters. It will easily pierce a person through and through. And it’s great that in the coastal waters of the famous All-Russian health resort this type of stingrays is not found.