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Stingray

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For other uses, see Stingray (disambiguation).

Stingrays
Bluespotted ribbontail ray, Taeniura lymma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Rajiformes
Family: Dasyatidae
Genera

Dasyatis
Himantura
Pastinachus
Pteroplatytrygon
Taeniura
Urogymnus
See text for species.

Dasyatidae is a family of rays, cartilaginous marine fishes.

Dasyatids are common in tropical coastal waters throughout the world, and there are fresh water species in Asia (Himantura sp.), Africa, and Florida (Dasyatis sabina). Most dasyatids are neither threatened nor endangered. The species of the genera Potamotrygon, Paratrygon, and Plesiotrygon are all endemic to the freshwaters of South America.

Dasyatids swim with a "flying" motion, propelled by motion of their large pectoral wings (commonly mistaken as "fins").

Their stinger is a razor-sharp, barbed or serrated cartilaginous spine which grows from the ray's whip-like tail (like a fingernail). It is coated with a toxic venom. This gives them their common name of stingrays, but that name can also be used to refer to any poisonous ray.

Like other rays, dasyatids are viviparous (bearing live young in "litters" of 5–10).

Murdering habits

MUTHA FUCKAZ KILLED STEVE IRWIN. THATS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW.

Aggression

Dasyatids generally do not attack aggressively,

HOLD DA FUCK UP

Do not attack aggresively? MUTHAFUCKAZ KILLED STEVE IRWIN THROUGH THE HEART. THE FUCK THIS IS?

Stingrays are a large part of the Melbourne Aquarium

As food

They gonna be my food now, mutha fuckaz murdering Steve Irwin and shit, gonna broil em and feed them to the Juggernaut bitch.

Viewing

Stingrays are usually very docile creatures. The customary reaction of the stingray is to immediately flee the vicinity where a disturbance is located. Nevertheless, certain larger species are located in waters where they are easily excitable due to possible attacks from feeding sharks and should be approached with caution, as the stingray's defensive reflex and effort to flee may result in human contact with the stinger, resulting in serious injury or even, as noted above, fatality.

Dasyatids are not normally visible to swimmers, but divers and snorkelers may find them in shallow sandy waters, more so when the water is unseasonably warm.

In the Cayman Islands, there are a couple of dive sites called Stingray City, Grand Cayman where divers and snorkelers can swim with large southern stingrays (Dasyatis americana) and feed them by hand.

There is also a "Stingray City" in the sea surrounding the Caribbean island of Antigua. It consists of a large, shallow reserve where the rays live and snorkelling is possible, as the rays there are said to be very friendly.

Most major aquariums feature stingrays, including the national Baltimore Aquarium. The Atlantis Paradise Island Hotel houses many eagle rays, sting rays, and one manta ray. The rays are often coexhibited with other marine life, such as the Caribbean reef shark. The Georgia Aquarium allows petting of southern stingrays in their Georgia Explorer exhibit. Similarly, visitors may use two fingers at a time to touch rays (with sting removed) and related guitarfish in outdoor exhibits at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. Petting Stingrays is also permitted in a special tank at the Blue Planet Aquarium, Ellesmere Port, UK. Likewise, the Mote Marine Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida allows visitors to pet a variety of rays in a controlled tank setting. Coral World Marine Park in St. Thomas, USVI even allows supervised feeding of southern stingrays by visitors.

In 2006, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays added a 35 foot, 10000 gallon, touch tank in their stadium where fans get a chance to interact with dozens of rays.

Small rays and other fishes can be petted in a "tactile tank" at Nausicaä, a large aquarium park in Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the English Channel coast in northern France. One ray has been known to be so friendly it tried to expose its entire ventral surface, ending up toppling over backward.

A typically-placid stingray idling at the bottom of the sea, with unusually clear water, in Eilat, Israel

Species

There are about seventy species in six genera:

Stingray City in Grand Cayman allows swimmers, snorkelers, and divers to swim and feed stingrays.

References

  1. Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Kailola (2006). "Himantura hortlei n. sp., a new species of whipray (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) from Irian Jaya, Indonesia" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1239: 19–34.
  2. Last, Manjaji & Yearsley (2005). "Pastinachus solocirostris sp. nov., a new species of Stingray (Elasmobranchii: Myliobatiformes) from the Indo-Malay Archipelago" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1040: 1–16.

External link

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