Overview/ Introduction
Stingrays are a type of ray, their scientific name is Myliobatoilder. As you may or not know, rays are closely related and associated with sharks, you could even call them cousins! Both sharks and rays are a type of fish, that is just one of the many similarities between each species. Sharks and rays also do not have bones like regular fish. Instead sharks and rays both are supported by cartilage, this makes their bodies flexible and able to move easily. If you’re unaware of what cartilage is, here’s something to try! Take your finger and put it to the tip of your nose, then move your nose around with your finger a bit. Notice how the tip of your nose moves with your finger? That’s cartilage, it's what sharks and stingrays bodies are made out of; plus the tip of our nose! Stingrays are wonderful creatures and are very unique, therefore let’s move on to talking about them.
Photo Credits: https://www.britannica.com/animal/stingray
Appearance
Stingrays have a very distinct appearance, just like other species of rays. Like mostr rays, stingrays have a very flat body type. Their fins extend out their whole entire body which causes them to appear roundish and flat. Stingrays are very large animals, according to National Geographic they can grow up to 6.5 feet and weight up to 790 pounds. Stingrays eyes are on the top of their head, while their mouth rests on the bottom of their body with their nostrils and gills. The coloration of stingrays really depends on the species itself, some species of stingrays could be very colorful and patterned while others could just be brown and white. Therefore, it really depends on the type of stingray you’re wondering about. Something unique about stingrays is that they use their tails in order to defend themselves, some species may have a serrated tail, while others have venom in their tail which is in fact dangerous towards humans and could end very badly if stung.
Diet
Stingrays eat a variety of different foods, which mostly consists of clams, oysters, shrimp and crabs. Stingrays have very strong jaws, and in order to sense their prey it is believed that they use the ampullae of Lorenzi, which sharks also use to sense prey. Another similarity!
Lifestyle
Female stingrays give birth once a year, usually no more than 6 babies at a time, sometimes even less. Stingrays can be found in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean.
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