• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

ecology A smooth stingray glides over the kelp at the Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand. Text by Nigel Marsh Photos by Nigel Marsh and Andy Murch Gliding slowly over the rocky reef, I was mesmerised, watching all the colourful reef fishes going about their daily activities. I was so entranced that I was startled to look up and find I was on a collision course with a massive stingray. This was the first stingray I had ever seen, and the giant creature terrified Sorting Out the me. In the second it took my panicking brain to work out what to do, the stingray suddenly saw me and also got a shock. A Stingrays mad splash of fins saw us both turn tail and flee in opposite directions! of Sydney, Australia. Once my almost 2m wide and did not I think my love of stingrays with their dagger-like tail spines, Habitat courage returned, I jumped back seem to be too bothered by started that day, and almost but because they are fascinating Stingrays are mainly found into the water, and this time, got an annoying little kid swimming 50 years later, I still get a thrill to watch as they go about their in tropical and subtropical I can still clearly remember that a closer look at this magnificent alongside. However, I was still very whenever I encounter a member daily lives; be it digging in the waters, but a few venture into first stingray encounter, even animal—a smooth stingray, the wary, staying well away from the of this diverse and interesting sand for food, gliding gracefully temperate zones. And as most though I was only nine years largest stingray species in the tail, where I could see a large group of animals—not because around the reef or simply lazing stingrays inhabit shallow water, old, snorkelling in a bay north world. This graceful ray was and lethal spine. they are potentially dangerous on the bottom. they can be found at many 57 X-RAY MAG : 98 : 2020 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO ecology Stingrays Blotched fantail rays are often seen cruising or hovering in midwa- ter when a current is running (left). This one was photographed off Tweed Heads, Australia; The bluespot- ted ribbontail ray is easy to distinguish from other small rays with blue spots by its oval shape (below). This one was found shelter- ing under a wreck in the Red Sea. A view of the underside of a smooth sting- ray shows off its mouth and gills (left). popular dive sites around the planet. the devil rays, eagle rays, stingarees The genus names are quite complex, like At some dive sites, the stingrays are the and several lesser known family groups. Bathytoshia, so I have included a common main attraction. Accustomed to divers, Stingrays are further placed in the super group name for each genus. Some of they are easy to approach, study and family Dasyatidae which contains four these are in general usage, but I have also photograph. There are also a number of sub-families: Dasyatinae, Hypolophinae, had to create a few names based on a popular stingray feeds, like the famous Neotrygoninae and Urogymninae. common feature. Stingray City in the Cayman Islands, Until recently, there was thought to be where divers can literally get mugged by around 60 stingray species contained Bathytoshia – Roughtail Rays dozens of hungry rays. within five genera groups. However, a This genus of stingrays contains three major review of the family in 2016 by species that all have a rough tail, Family shakeup researchers Peter Last, Gavin Naylor covered in dermal denticles. While many stingrays look the same, and Mabel Manjaji-Matsumoto, looking there are actually close to one hundred at morphological and molecular differ- Smooth stingray. The best known species that vary greatly in size, shape, ences, has drastically changed the member of this family is the one I first colouration and tail length. In recent family, with 95 species now recognised met as a child, the largest stingray in the years, the stingray family has had a within 19 genera. This is such a drastic world, the smooth stingray (Bathytoshia major shake-up, with many new species change that most guidebooks and brevicaudata). This species, like most described and many species rearranged websites used to identify stingrays are stingrays, was once placed in the large within the family, which can make sorting completely out of date. Dasyatis genus, but the revisions have seen out the stingrays very tricky. To help divers sort through the changes this genus reduced to just five species. Stingrays are a member of the large within the stingray family, this article will The smooth stingray is found only in 2.1m, and has a short tail and often a rays. The rays are almost local celebrities, and diverse ray family, Batoidea, which look at many common stingrays found the Southern Hemisphere, inhabiting the white-spotted V-shaped pattern around well known to everyone in the local contains over 600 species in 26 family around the world and where they fit within temperate waters of southern Australia, the head. In Australia, this species is community. Unfortunately, this does groups. Stingrays (the family is also the stingray family tree. I will look at these New Zealand and South Africa. Well very common around jetties and boat not stop some fishers from killing them known as whiptail stingrays) are placed stingrays, genus-by-genus, as each genus known to divers in cooler waters, the ramps—spots where fishers clean their or chopping off their tails if they are in the order Myliobatiformes, along with contains stingrays with similar features. smooth stingray reaches a width of catch and throw scraps to the resident accidently hooked. 58 X-RAY MAG : 98 : 2020 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO ecology Stingrays The broad stingray is found around the world in temperate and subtropical zones and has many common names (above); One of the strangest stingray aggregations occurs off Byron Bay, Australia, each summer when thousands of Coral Sea maskrays gather in the gutters at Julian Rocks (left); The Tortonese’s stingray is often mistaken for the common stingray, which is not common at all, but has a larger spiracle (bottom left). This one was photographed at the Canary Islands. For this reason, this species has many science, the common stingray is found common names around the world, in the Eastern Atlantic, including the including the longtail stingray, black Mediterranean and Black Sea. Typically stingray, brown stingray and thorntail grey to golden-brown in colour, there One of the best places to see this species stingray. The broad stingray is found in both is a bit of a dispute as to how big this is the Poor Knights Islands in New Zealand, temperate and subtropical waters, with species grows, with some sources saying where it is called the short-tailed stingray. two of the best places to see them being 60cm wide, and others 1.4m wide. The Seen on almost every dive at this wonderful the Canary Islands and Poor Knights Islands common stingray is not as common as it dive destination, these rays are known to in New Zealand. once was, due to fishing pressures, and occasionally gather en masse over the is now listed as “near threatened.” This summer months, cruising in midwater in Dasyatis – Rough Rays species is mostly seen by divers in the caves and arches. This poor genus took a beating in the Mediterranean and Canary Islands but is recent review, losing almost all its members not really common anywhere anymore. Broad stingray. The other common member apart from five species that are limited to of this genus has caused quite a bit of the Atlantic Ocean. The rough rays get Tortonese’s stingray. A more common confusion since the recent review. The their name from the Greek term dasyatis— member of this genus is the closely related broad stingray (Bathytoshia lata) looks very with dasys meaning rough. But only some Tortonese’s stingray (Dasyatis tortonesei). similar to the smooth stingray but has a long older rays in this genus have rough skin and This species is found over much the same tail and a row of thorns along its back. This a row of thorns along the back, but they area as the common stingray, and looks species varies in colour from black to brown all have the classic diamond shape and a very similar, so telling them apart can be and grows to 1.8m wide. medium-length tail with upper and lower tricky, with the Tortonese’s stingray having a Once thought to occur only around skin folds. larger spiracle. The Canary Islands appears the Hawaiian Islands, the review found to be the best destination to see this ray, that several other stingray species from Common stingray. Well known to especially at Los Gigantes on Tenerife. around the world were actually this the ancient Greeks and Romans, the At this site, a ray feed is conducted, species. However, since the Hawaiian one common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca) attracting up to six species of rays, with was the first to be described, the other is the archetypal member of this genus. the Tortonese’s stingrays being the most scientific names have become obsolete. One of the first rays described by common and numerous of attendees. PRILFISH / FLICKR / CC BY 2.0 59 X-RAY MAG : 98 : 2020 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO A southern stingray digs in the sand, looking for food off Grand Bahama (left); A red stingray at the famous Shark Scrabble, off ecology Tateyama, Chiba, Japan (below) Southern stingray.

Load more

  10

Copy Link