Short-tail stingray
| Short-tail stingray | |
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| Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling | |
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| Species: | D. brevicaudata
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| Binomial name | |
| Dasyatis brevicaudata (Hutton, 1875)
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The Short-tail stingray, (Dasyatis brevicaudata), also known as a Bull Ray is a stingray of the family Dasyatidae, found on the continental shelf in the Indian Ocean, and around temperate and subtropical coasts of Australia and New Zealand, at depths of up to 470 m. Its length is up to 430 cm (14 ft), and it is reputed to be the largest stingray in the world, weighing more than 350 kg (771 lb.'s).
The short-tail stingray is a large plain stingray with a bluntly angular snout and pectoral disc with round tips, a thick-based tail shorter than the body, and with a small upper and a long lower caudal finfold, the lower not reaching the tail tip. The tail ends in a vertically flattened fin-like tip. The disc is smooth except for a large, slender thorn on the tail in front of the stings. There are often 2 stings, the front one small, the rear one huge, which bear toxin glands.
Coloration is grey-brown or bluish-grey dorsally with a row of small, pale blue spots at each pectoral fin base, and white ventrally.
Generally found on soft bottoms and feeds on crabs, mantis shrimps, bivalves, polychaetes, crustaceans and conger eels. The teeth are flattened and plate-like.
It frequently raises its tail in a scorpion-like fashion when approached. Though it can inflict severe wounds, it is considered more inquisitive than aggressive. Even being stung is generally a minor injury, and fewer than 20 people have ever been killed by a stingray in modern history. On September 4, 2006, Australian environmentalist and television personality Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray's barb while snorkeling nearby for a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef. In this case, the barb coincidentally pierced Irwin's heart and caused immediate cardiac arrest.]]
The short-tail stingray is ovoviviparous.
See also
References
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Dasyatis brevicaudata". FishBase. May 2006 version.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8