stingray - Feeding habits, As food, Viewing, Species

Any of several bottom-living rays (Families: Dasyatidae, Potamotrygonidae, Urolophidae) in which the tail is whip-like and armed with one or more sharp poison spines; includes the large European stingray, Dasyatis pastinaca, common in shallow inshore waters from the North Sea to the Mediterranean; body length up to 2·5 m/8 ft.

iStingrays
Bluespotted ribbontail ray, Taeniura lymma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Chondrichthyes Subclass: Elasmobranchii Order: Rajiformes Family: Dasyatidae
Genera
Dasyatis Himantura Pastinachus Pteroplatytrygon Taeniura Urogymnus See text for species.

Dasyatidae is a family of rays, cartilaginous marine fishes, related to skates and sharks.

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).

Some adult rays may be no larger than a human palm, while other species, like the short-tail stingray, may have a body of six feet in diameter, and an overall length, including their tail, of fourteen feet.

Feeding habits

Since their eyes are on top of their body and their mouths on the bottom, stingrays cannot see their prey. The stinger often breaks off in the wound, which is non-fatal to the stingray, and will be regrown. All stingray injuries should be medically assessed;

Most rays are viviparous, bearing live young in "litters" of five to ten.

As food

Rays may be caught on a fishing line using small crabs as bait, and are often caught accidentally; Whilst not independently valuable as a food source, the stingray's capacity to damage shellfishing grounds can lead to bounties being placed on their removal.

Stingray recipes abound throughout the world, with dried forms of the wings being most common. Generally, the most prized parts of the stingray are the wings, the "cheek" (the area surrounding the eyes) and the liver.

Viewing

Stingrays are usually very docile creatures. The customary reaction of the stingray is to immediately flee the vicinity of a disturbance. 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 (though rarely) death.

In the Cayman Islands, there are several 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. Here divers and snorkelers often gather to watch stingrays and nurse sharks who are drawn to the area by tour operators who feed the animals.

Many Tahitiian island resorts regularly offer guests the chance to "feed the stingrays and sharks". This consists of taking a boat to the outer lagoon reefs then standing in waist-high water while habituated stingrays swarm around, pressing right up against you seeking food from your hand or tossed into the water.

Most major aquariums feature stingrays, including the National Baltimore Aquarium and the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. Where there are stingray touch tanks where visitors can "pet" rays or when show divers routinely hand feed rays in giant saltwater exhibits, for diver and visitor safety the spines on the rays are snipped off with a pair of pliers.

The Atlantis Paradise Island Hotel houses many eagle rays, sting rays and one manta ray. The Georgia Aquarium allows petting of southern stingrays in their "Georgia Explorer" exhibit. Petting stingrays is also permitted in a special tank at the Blue Planet Aquarium, Ellesmere Port, England. 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.

Species

There are about seventy species in six genera:

Genus Dasyatis Dasyatis acutirostra (Nishida & Red stingray, Dasyatis akajei (Müller & Southern stingray, Dasyatis americana (Hildebrand & Bennett's stingray, Dasyatis bennetti (Müller & Short-tail stingray or bull ray, Dasyatis brevicaudata (Hutton, 1875). Whiptail stingray, Dasyatis brevis (Garman, 1880). Roughtail stingray, Dasyatis centroura (Mitchill, 1815). Blue stingray, Dasyatis chrysonota (Smith, 1828). Diamond stingray, Dasyatis dipterura (Jordan & Estuary stingray, Dasyatis fluviorum (Ogilby, 1908). Smooth freshwater stingray, Dasyatis garouaensis (Stauch & Sharpsnout stingray, Dasyatis geijskesi (Boeseman, 1948). Giant stumptail stingray, Dasyatis gigantea (Lindberg, 1930). Longnose stingray, Dasyatis guttata (Bloch & Izu stingray, Dasyatis izuensis (Nishida & Bluespotted stingray, Dasyatis kuhlii (Müller & Yantai stingray, Dasyatis laevigata (Chu, 1960). Mekong stingray, Dasyatis laosensis (Roberts & Brown stingray, Dasyatis latus (Garman, 1880). Longtail stingray, Dasyatis longa (Garman, 1880). Daisy stingray, Dasyatis margarita (Günther, 1870). Pearl stingray, Dasyatis margaritella (Compagno & Marbled stingray, Dasyatis marmorata (Steindachner, 1892). Pitted stingray, Dasyatis matsubarai (Miyosi, 1939). Smalleye stingray, Dasyatis microps (Annandale, 1908). Multispine giant stingray, Dasyatis multispinosa (Tokarev, 1959). Blackish stingray, Dasyatis navarrae (Steindachner, 1892). Common stingray, Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758). Smalltooth stingray, Dasyatis rudis (Günther, 1870). Atlantic stingray, Dasyatis sabina (Lesueur, 1824). Bluntnose stingray, Dasyatis say (Lesueur, 1817). Chinese stingray, Dasyatis sinensis (Steindachner, 1892). Thorntail stingray, Dasyatis thetidis (Ogilby, 1899). Tortonese's stingray, Dasyatis tortonesei (Capapé, 1975). Cow stingray, Dasyatis ushiei (Jordan & Pale-edged stingray, Dasyatis zugei (Müller & Genus Himantura Pale-spot whip ray, Himantura alcockii (Annandale, 1909). Dragon stingray, Himantura draco (Compagno & Ganges stingray, Himantura fluviatilis (Hamilton, 1822). Sharpnose stingray, Himantura gerrardi (Gray, 1851). Pointed-nose stingray, Himantura jenkinsii (Annandale, 1909). Kittipong's stingray, Himantura kittipongi Marbled freshwater whip ray, Himantura krempfi (Chabanaud, 1923). Smalleye whip ray, Himantura microphthalma (Chen, 1948). Round whip ray, Himantura pastinacoides (Bleeker, 1852). Chupare stingray, Himantura schmardae (Werner, 1904). White-edge freshwater whip ray, Himantura signifer (Compagno & Whitenose whip ray, Himantura uarnacoides (Bleeker, 1852). Honeycomb stingray, Himantura uarnak (Forsskål, 1775). Genus Pastinachus Cowtail stingray, Pastinachus sephen (Forsskål, 1775). Genus Pteroplatytrygon Pelagic stingray, Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte, 1832). Genus Taeniura Round stingray, Taeniura grabata (É. Thorny freshwater stingray, Urogymnus ukpam (Smith, 1863).