5 interesting facts about stingrays. Seven facts about manta rays. Where do stingrays live

Electric Stingray is a marine cartilaginous fish, hallmark which is the presence of paired electric organs. The detachment of electric rays consists of 4 families and more than 60 species.

Electric ramp - characteristics and description.

The body of the electric stingray is disc-shaped with a slight elongation in the form of a tail, there is a caudal fin and one or two upper fins. The body size of the stingray can reach 50 centimeters. However, there are also large representatives, the maximum body length of which reaches 1.2 meters, and the weight is approximately 100 kg. Stingray sea fish can have a different color: from the simplest discreet color to bright and colorful patterns and patterns. The eyes of the electric stingray are located on top, such anatomical structure causes rather poor vision in this species of fish. On the sides of the disc-shaped body are kidney-shaped organs that produce electricity, they are located between the head and on pectoral fins. Electric organs of sea stingrays designed for self-defense and catching prey. With the help of them, the stingray releases beam-like electrical ranks power from 6 to 220 volts. Thus, the fish strikes the prey or the enemy and attacks him.

Where do stingrays live?

The habitats of stingrays are quite different. Electric stingray lives on reefs, clay bays, in areas sandy beaches. Sometimes a stingray can also live in the depths of the seas and oceans, maximum depth The ramp dive is about 1000 meters. You can find this fish only in the waters of the temperate and tropical climatic zones.

Baby stingrays carry an electrical charge from birth. An adult female electric stingray can give birth to 8-14 babies. The body length of a newborn stingray is negligible and is approximately 2 centimeters.

Sea fish stingray in addition to his electrical ability, he has another undeniable talent. These fish are excellent swimmers, which is due to the shape of the body adapted for this. Rounded fins allow stingrays to soar in aquatic environment, while not spending much effort to overcome long distances. This helps the stingrays in the process of finding food for themselves and their newborn babies.

What does the electric stingray eat and how does it hunt?

The electric stingray feeds mainly on fish and carrion. Smaller representatives of stingrays produce small marine plankton in the form of small fish, crabs, octopuses. More large species eat fish. For example, mullet, salmon. When hunting, the electric stingray catches up with its prey and hugs it with its fins. A series of electrical discharges are launched on the victim, as a result of which she dies.

Electric rays can grow up to 2 meters in length and weigh about 90 kilograms. However most of of them grow up to 1-1.5 meters in length and weigh 13-18 kilograms. There is an individual only a few centimeters long. Others are meter, and in some cases more (up to 7 meters) size.

These animals are mainly demersal species, but can also swim and hunt in the water column and can be found down to a depth of one kilometer. They drive night image life, during the day they partially burrow into the sand, and at night they come out to feed. For the most part, they are solitary creatures that come together only for the sake of reproduction. Little is known about the reproductive pattern of the electric ray. It is generally accepted that they make long migrations over distances of up to several tens of thousands of kilometers.

Worldwide distribution

Although there are about twenty species of stingrays capable of generating electricity, the black electric stingray (lat. Torpedo nobiliana) is the largest and most powerful. It is widely distributed and has been seen in warm and temperate waters off the coasts of North and South America, Africa and throughout the Mediterranean.

The habitats of stingrays are quite different. Electric stingray lives on reefs, clay bays, in areas of sandy beaches. Sometimes a stingray can also live in the depths of the seas and oceans, the maximum depth of immersion of a stingray is approximately 1000 meters. You can find this fish only in the waters of the temperate and tropical climatic zones.

Baby stingrays carry an electrical charge from birth. An adult female electric stingray can give birth to 8-14 babies. The body length of a newborn stingray is negligible and is approximately 2 centimeters.

Sea fish stingray in addition to his electrical ability, he has another undeniable talent. These fish are excellent swimmers, which is due to the shape of the body adapted for this. Rounded fins allow stingrays to soar in the aquatic environment, while not spending much effort to overcome long distances. This helps the stingrays in the process of finding food for themselves and their newborn babies.

Stingray coloring

The color of the animal largely depends on its habitat: sea ​​waters and fresh waters. In these creatures, the color of the upper body region can be either light, for example, sandy, or multi-colored, with a fancy ornament or dark. It is this coloring that helps the stingrays successfully camouflage themselves from observers from above, giving it the opportunity to merge with the surrounding space.

The underside of these flat creatures is usually lighter than the top. On the indicated side of the animal are such organs as the mouth and nostrils, as well as gills in the amount of five pairs. The tail of such inhabitants of the waters has a whip-like shape.

Rays are a very large group of aquatic animals that have nothing to do with mammals . stingray – is it a fish or more precisely, a creature belonging to the category of elasmobranchs cartilaginous fish.

What does the electric stingray eat and how does it hunt?

The electric stingray feeds mainly on fish and carrion. Smaller representatives of stingrays produce small marine plankton in the form of small fish, crabs, octopuses. Larger species feed on fish. For example, capelin, mullet, sardines, salmon. When hunting, the electric stingray catches up with its prey and hugs it with its fins. A series of electrical discharges are launched on the victim, as a result of which she dies.

High voltage electric ramp

Electric rays have two electric kidney-like organs. These organs generate electricity through muscle contractions. Then this Electric Energy stored in these organs in the same way as in a battery. Electrical energy can emanate from the body, allowing the ray to deliver a powerful electrical shock to the victim. A large electric ramp that is fully charged can create an electrical shock of up to 220 volts. It's enough to completely knock an adult human off his feet, but not enough to kill him, although he could potentially kill someone with health problems. However, death can occur if a person is unconscious, shocked, or injured so that they cannot swim normally and, as a result, may simply drown. The stingray uses its electrical abilities as a defensive measure and also as a way to hunt its prey. Although the electric ray seems to be sedentary and a poor swimmer, it will use a short, high-speed dash to get close to the fish and then electrocute. If he manages to get close enough, he will wrap his wings around the fish to deliver several electric shocks and immediately kill his prey. Electric stingrays have an expanding mouth that allows them to swallow very large fish. This diagram shows the electrical organs of an electric stingray. The electrical charge is generated by muscle contractions and stored in these organs, which can account for almost 20% of a stingray's entire body weight.

Electric charge it will also be used in self-defense to scare away large predators such as sharks that might try to attack him. Although rare, people have been hit by electric stingrays while walking in the sea near the shore, and divers who thought it was good idea to touch the electric ramp. In such cases, people often received a mild warning electric shock. In fact, it is generally accepted that electric stingrays have two different shocks: a short, weak warning electric shock to stop approaching it, and a full-power shock aimed at killing prey or an attacker.

Interesting facts about electric rays

Electric rays are viviparous, giving birth to live fry after they hatch from eggs in the female's uterus. On the late stages During the 8-10 month gestation period, the female excretes liquid products for the developing embryos.

Since contact with an electric ray can cause numbness, the ancient Romans and Greeks called these rays "numbfish". They believed the numbness had therapeutic value and applied stingrays to their bodies to treat gout, chronic headaches, and other ailments.

Stingrays can generate and control electric charges on own will. Although electric rays can be aggressive, there is no evidence that they harm humans.

Black electric rays, for example, live along the coastlines of Canada, the United States, Great Britain and South Africa. But they have also been found in the open ocean at depths of around 450 m (1,475 ft). Blind electric rays (lat. Typhlonarke aysoni) have been found in waters as deep as 900 m (2,950 ft).

The mouth of the short-tailed gnus (lat. Hypnos monopterygius) is huge, which allows it to swallow prey half its size.

In addition to stunning potential prey and scaring away presumed predators, the electric organs of electric rays can also be used to locate prey and communicate with each other.

Electric stingray contacts with people

The shock generated by California midges can be enough to incapacitate an adult human. It should be approached with caution, especially at night when it is active and has been known to attack divers with its mouth open if harassed. It is not known for certain, but it is possible that he participated in several unexplained deaths related to diving. This species does not do well in captivity as it usually refuses to feed when it first enters an aquarium.

Unfortunately, we were unable to find any reports of electric stingray contact with humans, so we are sharing a case that occurred in Australia involving a stingray (apparently). These stingrays are also dangerous and people have already died from their tails.

Reproduction and lifespan of stingray fish

Some species of stingrays are viviparous, others lay eggs in capsules. There are also varieties that perform their reproductive function in an intermediate way, being ovoviviparous.

When carrying cubs, the mother's body nourishes the embryos, a kind of outgrowths that penetrate into the oral cavity.

The female sea devil is able to give birth to only one cub, but its size is very impressive, and its weight is about 10 kg. But the female electric stingray, which gives birth to live cubs, is able to increase the genus of stingrays sometimes by 14 individuals.

The size of newborns is only 2 cm, but from the very first minute of existence they are able to produce electricity.

The lifespan of stingrays most often depends on the size. Small species live an average of 7 to 10 years. The larger ones live longer, about 10 to 18 years.

Some species: the electric stingray, as well as a number of others, for example, living near the Cayman Islands, where the most favorable conditions exist for such representatives of the fauna, live for a period of about a quarter of a century.

Video

Rays are related to sharks. First, what unites them is that both do not have bones, they are replaced by cartilage. Second, they live in the depths of the sea. Third, this is what they lead predatory image life.


The habitats of stingrays, as well as sharks, are different latitudes and depths of the seas.

Stingrays look quite peculiar, at first glance, they resemble a children's toy - kite. They have a flattened body, as if pressed down by someone from above. The body of stingrays is covered with scales, appearance which resembles thorns. The structure of these spikes is similar to the structure of teeth. Immediately from the head, huge pectoral fins are placed, it seems that they have grown together with the head. Stingrays swim with the help of these fins, the work of which sets the whole body in motion. In this way, stingrays differ from their relatives - sharks, in which the main thing in swimming is their powerful tail.


The teeth of the stingrays fit snugly together, outwardly they look like a grater. The eyes are located on top of the head, the eyeballs are tightly grown to its base, which are completely devoid of blinking reflexes. The sizes of stingrays are different: they can range from a few centimeters to seven meters in length.

Stingray habitats

Stingrays are mostly bottom dwellers and their favorite places to live are sea ​​depths . Since they are predators, they are happy to eat small fish, crayfish, mollusks, which are found at the bottom of reservoirs. Because they live mainly on the bottom of the oceans and seas, the color of the dorsal part of the stingrays changes from sandy to black. By this they adapt to the changing and insidious bottom world and the color of the back changes for conspiracy. The habitats of stingrays are quite diverse: they can live in the cold waters of Antarctica and in tropical seas. They feel very comfortable at water temperatures up to 30 0 C. Many species of stingrays live right off the coast, at a depth of up to one meter, but there are also those that descend to an ocean depth of up to three kilometers.

Varieties of stingrays

In nature, there are more than four hundred varieties of rays. Their appearance and lifestyle directly depends on their habitats.

For example, here are some of them:

- this species is characterized by the fact that the weight of this stingray can reach up to 2 tons (!) And the wingspan in motion is up to 7 meters. The manta ray looks very bewitching when it is swimming, it resembles a huge fairy-tale bird. A characteristic feature of this species of stingrays is that they, like dolphins, love to jump out of the water, reaching a height of up to 1.5 meters and fall back splashing water in different directions.

- their wingspan is slightly smaller, reaches up to 2.5 meters, It can stretch up to five meters in length. The stingrays of this species have a certain spike at the end of the tail, which they use in self-defense and can hit the enemy so that he flies far to the side.

Electric ramps- this type of stingrays has a natural gift, an electrical discharge that can protect the stingray from impending danger or paralyze the victim - prey. The charge of electricity is laid at the junction of the head of the stingray and the pectoral fins. Discharge strength electric current an ordinary ramp can reach up to 40 volts. This blow will be enough to stun the victim, paralyze them and then eat them.

Features of reproduction of rays

The female stingray, in the period mating games gathers around him a huge number of males, who, as if spellbound, synchronously repeat all the movements of the female. The most successful and agile male, who won these games, gets the right to copulate with the female, which lasts only a minute and a half.

Stingrays reproduce in different ways: there are viviparous and laying eggs, the so-called capsules, inside each there is a fertilized egg. There is such a species of stingrays as the Sea Devil, the female of this species bears one single baby for a whole year, which is born weighing more than ten kilograms and growing up to one meter. After his birth, the mother loses all interest in her child and he sets off on his own.

• The stingray is the most stingray dangerous view for a person. A huge spike is placed on the tail of the stingray of this species, at the end of which poisonous cells are placed. Upon receiving a portion of this poison, a person can be completely paralyzed, blood pressure can drop to a minimum, skeletal joints and muscles can undergo paralysis without recovery.
• The eyes and mouth of the stingray are located in different places on the head and the stingray never sees what it absorbs while eating.
• People are engaged in catching stingrays and use its skin for the production of belts and wallets, and the meat is eaten.
• In places where the stingray lives, locals and tourists try to get an electric shock from the stingray. It is believed that having received the desired discharge of electricity from the stingray, people will get rid of many diseases, such as back pain.
• Ancient people were actively hunting for stingrays caudate-shaped. They used the spikes of these rays to make arrows. In addition to the fact that they were very convenient in hunting, they were saturated with poison, which helped them in the fight against external enemies. Information about the features, habitats, habits and consequences of encounters with a stingray is so interesting and informative that a whole book is not enough to describe everything that people are interested in about these rather unusual creatures.

24.04.2016

Skates are one of the superorders of cartilaginous lamellar-gill fish. All representatives of 15 families of these aquatic life have a flattened disc-shaped or diamond-shaped body and large pectoral fins fused to the head. What else has nature come up with to provide these creatures with the best adaptations to their environment? What interesting facts about stingrays are known?

1. The eyes of the rays are located on the upper side, and the mouth and gill slits on the lower side. They don't see what they eat. And the stingrays have to breathe in an original way. They draw in water through large spiracles located on the upper side of the body and covered with valves, and release a stream saturated with carbon dioxide through the gill slits.
2. Like other cartilaginous fish, rays have receptors that are sensitive to electric fields. They then replace the fish's vision when hunting and eating.
3. The head of the sawfish, or sawfish stingray (comb sawfish) is equipped with an elongated flat snout with tooth-like outgrowths along the edges. They feed on animals living in the bottom soil or near-bottom flocks of fish, digging them out with their snout-saw or stunning them with a saw blow from above. It's pretty big fish- 6 meters, 300 kilograms.
4. At the top of the tail part of the body of another representative of the stingrays - stingrays - there are one or more needles equipped with grooves, through which poison is injected into the body of the victim. Large stingrays have tremendous tail muscle strength and needle strength. Their impact is able to pierce the multi-layered clothing and strong shoes of a person.
5. Electric stingrays have a rounded body shape, a small tail. On the sides of their body between the head and pectoral fins there are electrical organs. These organs are modified muscles. The voltage of the electric shock of a large electric ramp is 220 volts.
6. Most species of stingrays live at the bottom, only manta rays and stingrays actively move in the water column.
7. Rays usually have blunt teeth adapted for grinding mollusk shells.
8. Most a long tail at sea ​​fox or prickly stingray, living in the northern part Atlantic Ocean, in the Indian Ocean, with us - in the Black Sea, where it is mined for the production of fat. The blows of his tail are very painful. In the Black Sea there is another representative of the subfamily - a sea cat (ordinary stingray), it is no less dangerous.
9. The first rays appeared in the Mesozoic, they used to think that they were descended from sharks. After genetic analysis, it is argued that their ancestors were other animals.
10. Another type of stingray - River stingray - lives in the waters of the Amazon. It lives on sandbanks, where the bottom is clearly visible, but it is difficult to notice the stingray until its sharp poisoned spike sticks into the leg. From its strong thorn, the Indians make arrowheads.
11. More than others, guitar rays are similar to their closest relatives of sharks. Their body shape resembles this musical instrument.
12. Off the coast of Africa, one can observe the flight of the largest representative of the rays - the manta or the giant sea devil. He likes to rest on the surface of the water and jump out of it to a height of one and a half meters. At the same time, it seems that he is flying and frighteningly flapping his wings.
13. In the skin of stingrays there are cells - chromatophores, with the help of which they can change color, like many inhabitants of the bottom and benthic vegetation.
14. The strong and durable skin of stingrays is used by people to make expensive accessories, and their meat is loved in many countries of the world.

Skates do not reproduce very quickly, although internal fertilization predominates in their development cycle, among them there are both oviparous, ovoviviparous, and viviparous species. One of the rarest animals in the world is the small-toothed sawfly, which lives in tropical waters Pacific and Indian Oceans. For a long time they were the object of fishing because of the meat of their fins, from which they cooked expensive exotic soup. In folk medicine, the fat of its liver is used, and the rostrum of the animal is especially valued. Having almost destroyed the stingray, people decided to save his life and put it on the list of specially protected animals.

In the gloomy depths of the seas and oceans, such monsters lurk that you were afraid to even think about. Stinging with poisonous spikes, shocking - they are still the most unexplored inhabitants of the water expanses of our planet. Now you will read the most interesting facts about stingrays, what little we know about them at the moment.

1. The stingray is one of the most dangerous creatures oceans. A 15 cm spike hidden in its tail easily pierces the victim or drives away the offender. The notches on the spike make the wound lacerated and incompatible with life, and after the attack, the spike remains in the victim's body. In addition, it is poisonous and can even kill a person.
2. The manta ray occasionally jumps out of the water to the surface.. The height of these jumps reaches three meters. Scientists suggest that in this way, manta rays, like schooling fish, give a certain signal to the rest of the flock.

   

3. Sea devils, otherwise called manta rays, despite their impressive size reaching two tons, are harmless in nature. Lacking poisonous thorns, they often become victims of their own relatives - sharks. But they best friends for curious divers who can swim side by side with these giants.

   

4. Rays are directly related to sharks.. These two varieties are the most famous representatives a class of cartilaginous fish that do not have a bony skeleton. Although they are predators, plankton and small crustaceans living on the ocean floor are enough for them to feed.

   

5. females sea ​​devil bear only one cub for one year. It is born weighing more than 10 kilograms and about one meter in size. After that, the female loses all interest in him, and the newborn sets off for free swimming.

   

6. During the mating season, up to twenty males gather near the female manta. going on peculiar dance when the males repeat after the female all her movements. As a result, the most skilled male gets the right to copulate, which lasts only a minute and a half.

   

7. In regions where electric stingrays live, locals and tourists hold peculiar sessions traditional medicine. It is believed that if you receive a series of discharges from such a ramp, you can cure many diseases, such as arthritis or back pain.

   

8. The strength of the current discharge after being hit by an electric ramp is theoretically enough to cause death to a person. True, the history of such cases does not know, because it is quite difficult to get such a blow by accident. The slope must be large sizes, and a person needs not just to touch it with a finger, but practically hug the fish.

   

   
   
9. [b] In marble electric stingrays, the heart contracts only 15 times per minute, which allows them to burrow into the sand and lie on the bottom without moving for several days. Low oxygen content in water and high pressure not a hindrance to these born hunters.

   

10. The spines of the stingrays were used in ancient times by the tribes of the countries of the Pacific basin as arrowheads and spears. In addition, they were saturated with poison, which brought additional damage to the enemy.

    

11. Sea cats are the only species of stingrays that live in Russia and Ukraine, in the Black and Seas of Azov . Like all stingrays, it is poisonous. That does not interfere with its industrial fishing. Stingray meat is considered a delicacy in many countries, and liver sea ​​cat rich in vitamin D.

    

12. Motoro - the most common freshwater stingray. For its relatively small size - the maximum length with a tail - 1 m, diameter - up to 30 cm, has gained popularity among aquarists around the world. True, by getting yourself such pet, it is worth remembering that the spikes on his tail are as poisonous as those of his "wild" relatives.

    

13. It is a mistake to believe that these fish are found exclusively in warm waters . The habitat of the Northern stingray and Smooth (diamond) stingray extends up to the bottom of the Northern Arctic Ocean and the seas around it.

    

14. Sawfish - the oldest fossil mesozoic era, the extraction of which is prohibited. Revered by the Aztecs, some Asian peoples. The saw served as a sacred symbol, with the help of which it was possible to cast out spirits and cure diseases.

    

15. Steve Irwin, a television presenter from Australia, was killed on the set of his program by a stingray thorn hitting him right in the heart.