10 Things You Didn’t Know About Stingrays

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Stingrays

Take this voyage with us as we celebrate the glory that lies beneath the waves. Marine life and to be exact stingrays are our interest in this article. They are an amazing species of fish closely related to sharks.

Furthermore, they have captivating facts unique to them. Such as their mouth is on their underside, they can sting venom, and some species can fly through the water. Here’s the kicker, their young ones are hatched in their mother’s body. Get more insights into the intriguing nature and adaptability of stingrays below.

Here are the 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Stingrays.

1. Stingrays belong to the same group as sharks

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The main categories of fish are bony fish scientifically known as osteichthyes, jawless fish (agnatha), and cartilaginous fish (chondrichthyes). Stingrays fall under the group of cartilaginous fishes in a subclass known as elasmobranch. Other members of this class are sharks, rays, sawfishes, skates, and chimaeras.

To add on, the main difference between cartilaginous fish from bony fish is as their names suggest. The skeleton of a cartilaginous fish is mostly made of cartilage while that of a bony fish mostly consists of bone. Jawless fish lack a jaw and many of them have cylindrical and long bodies making them cartilaginous.

Since stingrays and sharks have a close evolutionary relationship, they have similar physical as well as behavioral mannerisms. For instance, both have a skeleton made of cartilage and jaws. They are also alike in that they have paired fins and paired nostrils.

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2. The stingrays tail has venomous spines

Their flat diamond-shaped body makes the stingrays flexible. Their whip-like tail has one or more saw-edged, venomous spines which they use as a defense mechanism against an enemy. These spines can regrow if they are lost or broken.

3. They are harmless creatures unless provoked

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Stingrays are considered to be gentle and not aggressive or dangerous unless they are attacked. They often burrow beneath the sand of the ocean floor, you can also spot them in the shallows or find them swimming in the open water.

The common instinct for stingrays is to swim away once they sense danger. They also escape from invaders in their environment like divers or snorkellers by swimming away. Thus it is possible to avoid being stung by these fish. In case a human steps on them unknowingly, they fire back by stinging.

Moreover, a stingray’s sting causes immediate severe pain in humans. Many times the pain is limited to the affected area and goes down over 6 up to about 48 hours. On rare occasions, the pain may spread to the rest of the body.

There are rare occurrences of human fatalities due to stings by stingrays. This is because the venom it releases is not deadly unless the first strike happens on sensitive body areas. A perfect illustration would be a sting around the chest or abdominal area which can lead to severe consequences including death.

4. Stingrays exist in over 200 species

The rays group of fish is made up of over 600 species which include stingrays, skates, sawfish, guitarfish, and devil rays. The stingrays are more than 200 species in the world.

They are further subdivided into more than 20 subgroups and they have different sizes. Some of the smallest in the family are like the teacup stingray which is 15 inches wide with a tail the same size as its body.

The giant freshwater stingray is quite huge. It ranks among the largest species in the stingray fraternity. It measures over 13 feet or 4 meters in length and weighs about 661 pounds or 299.8 kilograms.

5. Some stingrays live in saltwater and others in freshwater

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Different species of stingrays inhabit varied environments. The majority of stingrays live in coastal saltwater habitats compared to open ocean waters. Yet a few species occupy the freshwater environments. While some like the pelagic stingray are lovers of the open ocean waters.

More to it, stingrays are found in coastal tropical, subtropical marine waters and temperate oceans across the globe. They remain inactive most of the time. Thus they partially bury themselves in the sand and may only move at the sway of tides. The deepwater stingray also called Plesiobatis daviesi is an exception as it lives in the deep ocean.

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6. Several stingray species can “fly” through the water

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The broad fins of these fish species run through their full body length causing them the flat, roundish shape. When swimming, some of them move their whole body in wavy motions. Hence it enhances the propelling effect for swift movement in the water.

Better yet, some of its species make use of their fins. They flap them as birds do with their wings through the water. So they are presumed to be flying.

7. The young stingrays are hatched in their mother’s body

Female stingrays give birth to live young, unlike most fish that lay eggs. Except that stingrays are ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs of their young are hatched in the mother’s body.

Subsequently, after the eggs break the mother feeds her young with fluids and egg yolks to keep them growing while still inside her body. Afterward, she gives birth to her live young.

8. Their mouth is underneath their body

Photo by Enrique Ortega Miranda on Unsplash

Stingrays have their mouth located on the bottom side of the body. It is an adaptation that enables the fish to feed well on invertebrates and smaller fish at the bottom of the oceans. The likes of crabs, clams, and shrimp.

9. Stingrays can breathe under ocean sand thanks to their spiracles

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This group of fish has spiracles on the upper part of the body near the eyes. It is these spiracles that help them breathe when they bury themselves under sand on the ocean floor.

Additionally, they breathe using gills like the rest of the chondrichthyes. The stingray’s gills are located underside of their body below the mouth. When observed, the gill openings are visible as small rows of slits to the left and right side below the mouth.

With the adaptation of spiracles, stingrays use them to pass water over the gills to get oxygen. This takes place when they are buried under sand or muddy water because they can’t use their underside mouth to take in water at such times.

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10. They can live over 20 years in the wild

The stingrays’ life span varies from species to species. Some live shorter lives between 6 to 8 years. Though the average life span of those in the wild ranges from 15 years up to 25 years.

Bear in mind that, these numbers can drop to a low of five years for stingrays that are confined. Even with appropriate care stingrays cooped up in freshwater tanks live fewer years than those in the wild.

These mesmerizing realities about stingrays unravel the beauty of our planet’s marine ecosystems. As we expand our knowledge and get captivated by these creatures, it is also an opportunity to celebrate and protect nature as well as pass on our discoveries to others.