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Range and Habitat: Southern stingrays inhabit bays and
estuaries from New Jersey to Brazil, as well as the Gulf of Mexico.
They dwell on the sandy bottom of in-shore waters and sounds.
They inhabit temperate and tropical seas.
Description: Southern stingrays are the largest stingray
found along southeastern U.S. shores. They are fairly uniformly
brown in color, with lighter shading underneath. Rays are flat,
with a disc-shaped body and no distinct head, with a snout, eyes
on top of their head and a mouth underneath. Rays have wing-like
pectoral fins, large and flat, that allow them to glide through
the water gracefully. This wingspan can reach up to six feet.
Length from snout to tail may be over seven feet. Stingrays are
a specialized group of rays equipped with an elongated, thin,
whiplike tail. Protruding from this tail, part way up from the
base, is a sharp, bony stinger with a serrated edge that is used
as a means of defense. The stinger is capable of inflicting painful
cuts as well as delivering a poisonous blow with each strike.
Habits and Adaptations: Stingrays are ocean floor prowlers.
They sense prey underneath them, drop down over it (actually covering
it) and feast. Stingrays crush their food with strong plates in
their mouths and expel sand through their spiracles (just behind
their eyes). They usually eat bottom dwellers, such as crustaceans
and mollusks. They like to hide underneath the sand with only
their eyes, spiracle, and tail poking out, and will use their
large pectoral fins to loosen and scoop food out of the sand.
Diet: They feed on a wide variety of bottom organisms,
such as crustaceans (shrimp and crab), mollusks (snails and shellfish)
and worms. Some rays will "mine" the sediment using
a stream of water to dislodge prey.
Breeding and Maturation: Gestation is between four months
to one year. Breeding season is from late spring to early summer.
Development is oviparous, with clutches of two to nine in size,
and egg cases hatch from late summer to winter. Males are smaller
than females. Lifespan is unknown.
Miscellaneous: People often hand-feed Southern stingrays
in dive spots such as in Grand Cayman. This species of ray is
non-aggressive and gentle in nature. They typically avoid contact
with humans, but with repeated exposure they can become almost
sociable in their interactions. People are sometimes seriously
injured by stingrays, but this often occurs when they inadvertently
stand on a stingray that is partially buried in the mud or sand
of the seabed. Strangely enough, stingrays are not able to direct
their tail while swimming, which makes them somewhat defenseless
in motion. The spines of stingrays have been used for spear tips,
daggers, needles and awls. The main predators of stingrays are
sharks, particularly the hammerhead shark. They are killed by
humans for meat, spines and liver oil. They are often thought
of as a nuisance because they will raid oyster and shellfish farms.
There are over 100 species of stingrays worldwide.
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