Southern stingray
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| Southern stingray | ||||||||||||||||
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| Dasyatis americana (Hildebrand & Schroeder, 1928) |
The southern stingray, Dasyatis americana, is a stingray of the family Dasyatidae found in tropical and subtropical waters of the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. It has a flat, diamond-shaped body, with a mud brown upper-body and white underbelly. The barb on its tail is venomous and is used for self defence.
Three to five pups are usually born per litter after a 5 month pregnancy (may last up to 9 months). Its diet consists of bony fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. On Grand Cayman Island the southern stingray swims with divers and snorkelers, and are hand fed on a location called Stingray City. On Turks & Caicos, you can hand feed the southern stingray at a location called Gibbs Cay. Some have become tame enough to cradle in your arms and feed with pieces of cut up fish. The suction power of their mouth is similar to a very powerful vacuum cleaner.
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