Stingrays Explained #14. Stingrays aren t
normally aggressive Although the ocean is
full of a whole lot of dangerous and aggressive creatures, stingrays are not one of them. Contrary
to popular belief and their assumed reputation, they can be quite calm and friendly. This isn t
to say they re completely harmless. They have been known to kill humans. However,
they generally only lash out if they are approached the wrong way.
Stingrays only get aggressive when a diver gives them a reason to worry.
This can happen if the diver approaches them the wrong way. Most stingrays attack when a diver
is swimming directly over or in front of a ray, blocking its escape route. Accidentally stepping
on a ray in shallow water is also a fast way to get stung. To avoid this, expert divers shuffle
their feet when entering the ocean to avoid stepping directly on a stingray s back.
#13. Stingrays are masters of camouflage The ocean is full of many masters of
camouflage. Creatures like octopi are not only able to generate puffs of dense ink,
but they can also change color and texture to match their environment so as to avoid
predators or deceive prey. Stingrays don t have those many camouflage tools. Although
they are a one-trick pony in this regard, they are still remarkably good at hiding.
There are two things that make stingrays potent at hiding. For one, they have particularly flat
bodies. This allows them to lie flat against the ocean floor and avoid detection. Another
thing is that they have sandy to dark brown coloration. This helps them blend into the
environment while waiting for prey. #12. They have no bones in their body
Not all fishes have bones in their body. Some instead have skeletons made of cartilage.
Sharks and stingrays fall into this category of cartilaginous fishes or Chondrichthyes.
Stingrays being cartilaginous makes a lot of sense for them because of their flattened structure and
fluid movements. Cartilage allows them to grow into their shape without the restrictions that a
solid tissue-like bone would cause. But despite not having bone, they are still pretty strong.
Their jaws are strong enough to crush rock-hard clamshells. They are also
lighter and can get around easier. #11. They are closely related to sharks
Given that we mentioned both sharks and stingrays are cartilaginous fishes or Chondrichthyes,
it should be no surprise that they are closely related species. The differences are stark,
sure. Yet, there are stronger similarities. Stingrays look rather like flattened sharks,
although they don t have teeth. However, they have similar skin. Besides that, sharks and
stingrays also share some key internal organs. particularly the Ampullae of Lorenzini. This is
a special organ that allows for the detection of electrical impulses from other organisms,
thus allowing them to be hunted down easily. #10. They can get very large and grow very old
Stingrays can grow up to pretty massive sizes, depending on the species. Short-tailed stingrays,
are found off the southern coasts of Africa and Australia. They can reach 770
pounds in weight and grow 14 feet in length. Females reach sexual maturity faster than males,
grow larger than males, and also live longer than males. Females live for an average of 15-22 years,
while males only live for five to seven years. In March 2015, in Thailand s Mae Klong River, a
team led by Nantarika Chansue, a veterinarian and professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok,
helped catch and measure a stingray that was 7.9 feet across and 14 feet long and weighed
an estimated 700 to 800 pounds. It was one of the largest freshwater fish ever caught.
#9. They swim like birds fly Stingrays have an unusual way
of locomoting through water. However, as unusual as this method may seem, their movements through
the water resemble the flight of birds through the sky. Most other fishes, sharks included,
propel themselves through the water by wagging their tail fins or caudal fins. Stingrays,
on the other hand, use their large, wing-like pectoral fins to generate motor force.
Stingray pectoral fin locomotion can be divided into two categories, undulatory and oscillatory.
Stingrays who use undulatory locomotion have shorter, thicker fins, while stingrays that use
oscillatory motion have longer, thinner pectoral fins. During undulatory motion, stingray fins
generate multiple waves at a time. #8. They are different from manta rays
Stingrays and manta rays share the same biological class and the same biological order. However,
manta rays come from a different biological family, and that makes all the difference.
When it comes to similarities between these two, both of them have flattened bodies and
wide pectoral fins that are fused to the head. But one big difference is that manta rays lack a stick
while stingrays have one. It s even in the name. Another difference is that manta rays roam the
open ocean while stingrays prefer the bottom. #7. Some of them never stop swimming
Some sea creatures do not have the luxury of ceasing their locomotion.
They must keep swimming forever. One of these creatures is the cownose ray. This is a species
of eagle ray found throughout a large part of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England,
United States, to southern Brazil. In general, fish that must swim their whole
lives must do so to keep their gills running. If they stopped swimming, they could die. They
also migrate large distances over a year. The cownose ray often migrates from the Gulf of
Mexico to Trinidad, Venezuela, and Brazil. #6. Stingray babies are born fully developed
Aquatic creatures have a wide variety of ways of mating, gestating, birth, and parental care. Some
of them perform internal fertilization, where sperm and eggs mix inside the female s body.
Some of them perform external fertilization, where sperm and eggs combine outside the female s body.
Although live births are considered a mammalian trait, some non-mammals tend to exhibit this
characteristic. Stingrays are in this category, although they take things a step further.
Stingray babies are born fully developed. Meaning that unlike the young of other creatures,
they already know how to swim and hunt. This relieves their parents of the responsibility
of having to take care of them. Sometimes, though, when pregnant stingrays are caught,
they instantly have a miscarriage. The exact reason for this isn t known.
#5. They are as old as dinosaurs All life emerged from the sea. Some creatures we
see and interact with today have been around for a very long time without changing much. Octopi, sea
snakes, and sharks are such creatures. But then, so are stingrays, whose oldest fossils date back
150 million years to the Jurassic period. Stingray fossils are hard to come by. This is
because they lack bones. Cartilage, although durable, doesn t have the same kind of longevity
that bones have. The most enduring materials that stingrays leave behind are their scales and teeth.
These have been enough to place their birth as a biological group in history. It took about
100 million years for them to fully form. #4. They are solitary but can live in groups
Stingrays alternate between being solitary and living in groups. They live solitary
lifestyles for most of their adult lives. But then they come together in groups when
it's time to mate or migrate. These groups are known as schools, and they can offer protection
during vulnerable periods. For these creatures, it s the best of both worlds.
#3. They can detect magnetic fields We ve already mentioned how stingrays can
detect electrical fields using their Ampullae of Lorenzini. This is the main sensory organ,
which they share with sharks, that they use to hunt and track their prey since they don t have
prominent eyes. But other than the ability to detect electric fields, these creatures can also
detect magnetic fields. This trait, commonly observed in birds, helps them navigate.
Tests were conducted on yellow stingrays in 2020 to demonstrate the creatures could use
Earth s magnetic field to maintain their sense of direction while moving through their surroundings.
They found evidence that proved that stingrays could detect changes within the geomagnetic field
of the Earth. In addition, these stingrays use the magnetic field to their advantage
to orient themselves. #2. They give birth each year
Stingray mating is another area of their lives in which they put their Ampullae of Lorenzini to good
use. During the breeding season, males of certain species use this apparatus to check for females
who are signaling that they are ready for mating. When a male is courting a female, he follows her
closely, biting at her pectoral disc. He then places one of his two claspers into her valve.
After reaching sexual maturity, stingrays give birth every year. A female can have
between 2 to 6 babies each year which can live between 15 to 25 years in the wild. Females
also have a mechanism of storing sperm and can impregnate themselves and give birth a long time
after mating has taken place. #1. They are carnivorous and venomous
Stingrays are carnivores. Their favorite meals include mollusks, crustaceans, and small fish.
They have a variety of feeding mechanisms. Some have specialized jaws that allow them to crush
hard mollusk shells, while others use external mouth structures called cephalic lobes to guide
plankton into their oral cavity. Some also hunt by ambushing their prey and sucking them beneath them
and into their mouths if they come too close. Stingrays are famous for the skeletal stingers
that extend out of their tails and can secrete venom. One of the most
famous cases of a stingray attack on a human was the death of Steve Irwin in 2006.
It wasn t just the venom that killed him, but the location of his injury. The stinger penetrated his
thoracic wall and caused serious trauma. Which Stingray fact did you find most
surprising? Let us know in the comment section below.