Where does stingray fish live? What is the significance of sharks and rays in nature and human life. Electric ramp - characteristics and description

A wide variety of creatures live in the depths of the water. In addition to colorful fish, there are strange creatures there. Sharks and rays are the closest relatives of the ancient inhabitants of the seas and oceans. Millions of years of evolution have made these animals different from each other. Today, stingrays represent a diverse group of marine inhabitants.

The nostrils are located on the lower part of the body

general characteristics

Stingrays belong to the superorder of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish. They have a characteristic appearance: head fused with pectoral fin and very flat body. Color depends on habitat. Found in fresh and marine waters.

The size of individuals ranges from a couple of centimeters to several meters. The wingspan can reach two meters. The color of the upper body can be sandy, variegated and dark. These colors allow them to camouflage in the environment. The lower part of the body is white. On it are located:

• mouth;
• nostrils;
• gills (5 pairs);
• organs.

The tail of the stingray fish is long and thread-like. Representatives of this species are distributed throughout to the globe. Waters of Australia and Antarctica, Northern Arctic Ocean and other places - that's where stingrays live. They are adapted to any living conditions, which is why they have spread so widely in the course of evolution.

Scientists identify the following types of stingrays:

• electrical;
• sawfish;
• slope-shaped;
• tail-shaped.

All stingrays are electric fish; they are capable of generating electricity. However, only electric stingrays can create it at a voltage of 220 volts. With its help, they paralyze their prey.

The respiratory system of stingrays is unique. On the back of the individuals there are splashes, which are protected by small valves. With their help, individuals breathe when they bury themselves in the sand at the bottom. If the sprinklers become clogged, then the ramp just needs to clear them with streams of water.

Unique and nervous system. Representatives of this species have well-developed organs of chemical reception, photoreception and the acoustic-lateral system. Stingrays have high autonomy spinal cord, which brings them closer to cold-blooded animals.

In this video you will learn more about the electric ramp:

Nutritional Features

All stingrays- predators. Each species has its own characteristics of behavior and hunting. Some burrow at the bottom and wait for prey, while others actively search for it themselves. Small individuals eat plankton and small fish.

Rest eat mullet, capelin, salmon, sardines. Large representatives of the species attack octopuses and crabs. Individuals break through their strong shells with special plates in their mouths, which replace their teeth.

In some species the tail is covered with spines. It is with its help that the victim is stunned. Electric rays hug the fish with their fins and stun them with discharges.

It is worth remembering that such an attack is dangerous even for humans and can be fatal.

Reproduction and lifespan

Meet different ways Reproduction: viviparous, oviparous and ovoviviparous. Before mating, the male courts the female. He swims after her, biting her pectoral fin.

Large representatives of the species give birth to one baby at a time. Small individuals can reproduce 14 small stingrays. The size of newborns sometimes does not exceed 2 cm, but from the first minute of life they can receive an electric shock.

Small species live about seven years, large ones - 18 years. Much depends on favorable conditions environment. For example, those species that live off the Cayman Islands live up to 25 years. A good food supply and suitable climatic conditions help in this.

Some small species of stingrays can be kept in an aquarium. The volume of the container must be at least 250 liters. For these inhabitants it is better to choose a horizontal dwelling. The bottom should be as free as possible so as not to interfere with the movement of the individual.

You can plant plants in the ground. Aquarium must be closed with a lid, since some individuals like to jump out of the water. They adapt to any water hardness, the main thing is not to change the parameters suddenly.

At home pet fed with lake bloodworms. It is first disinfected and frozen. Boiled shrimp are given as a treat. They are sold in grocery stores. They are first cleaned of their shell and legs. Large pieces should be torn into small pieces. It is acceptable to include soft squid and scallops in your diet.

Stingrays can be kept at home

For better formation of dental plates and cartilaginous skeleton, pollock fillet is given. It is a source of phosphorus.

You can try breeding stingrays at home. In males, paired genital organs in the form of tubercles are clearly visible on the lower part of the body. In the female they are in the form of tubes. It is better to place a couple of individuals in a separate aquarium. They are fed generously. Before the breeding process itself, food is not given for four days.

The male will begin to show interest in the female. He will start chasing her and swimming around her beautifully. Sexual intercourse lasts about three minutes. Pregnancy lasts about 20 weeks. Before giving birth, a female will notice a bulge on her lower body.

From one to twelve full-fledged cubs are born; it is better to transplant them into a separate aquarium. Juveniles are fed with tubifex, bloodworms, and small minced fish. They reach sexual maturity by one year of age.

The stingray is the oldest cartilaginous sea bird fish with paired electrical organs. There are 4 families of electric stingrays, which are divided into 60 species.

Lifestyle

Stingrays live in both salt water and fresh water. Depending on the species, they can live both in cold water bodies and in warmer ones. Some species live only in one place, while others migrate frequently.

Tropical latitudes boast small stingrays that grow to only 15cm. Most major representative The stingray is the Sea Devil (Manta), which grows up to 7 meters wide and can weigh up to 3.5 tons.

A representative of medium size is the Cook's Stingray, which grows up to 5 meters in width.

Appearance

The main difference from other fish is the flattened body structure of the stingray with massive pectoral fins. The tail is not a fin because it is not developed. The skeleton is not hardened and is cartilaginous.

The color of the stingray depends on the water and the depth in which it lives; it can be either light or dark.

Stingrays have well-developed vision and electrical receptors (lateral line). Due to electrical impulses, the stingray senses nearby swimming fish and their heartbeat.

Nutrition

Large stingrays feed on flounder, cod, haddock, sardines, eels and capelin.

Small stingrays eat shellfish, worms, crabs and octopuses.

The exception is the large Manta ray, which allows large volumes of water to pass through its gills. Thus, it filters out small fish and plankton.

Stingrays hunt for their prey. Sometimes it paralyzes fish with electrical impulses, which can be fatal for small fish.

Reproduction

The appearance of offspring depends on the type of stingray. Some species are viviparous, while others lay eggs. In the case of birth from eggs, the female lays one egg per week, which can develop from 4 to 12 months, depending on the species.

Both viviparous and born from eggs, stingrays are full-fledged, adapted to underwater life, only small in size. From the first minutes of life, stingrays can produce electric current. On average, small stingrays live 7-10 years, large ones live from 10 to 18 years.

• The sawfish is a species of stingray.
• In some countries, stingrays are eaten raw.
• The Japanese covered the handles of katanas with stingray skin.
• The manta ray makes periodic jumps from the water, which is similar to flying over water.
• Manta rays, although large in size, are harmless and often swim side by side with divers.

Option 2

One of the most mysterious creatures on the planet is the stingray fish. Together with sharks, they are ancient residents of deep waters. Their uniqueness is that while swimming, the fish moves only using its fins, without the help of a tail, reminiscent of the flight of a butterfly.

The habitat of the stingray is the seas and oceans. Some species live in fresh water bodies. Basically, fish prefer to live at the bottom of reservoirs, the depth of which can reach up to 2700 meters.

The stingray has a flattened body shape and a narrow a long tail. On the sides there are kidney-shaped organs that generate electricity, intended for catching food or self-defense. The electrical discharge power is about 220 volts. The fish has poor eyesight.

The color of the stingray depends on the surrounding habitat, it can be either black or light sand. Some individuals have simple patterns on the upper body. The abdomen always has a light shade.

The animal's diet mainly consists of fish or carrion. Small representatives feed sea ​​plankton, and large ones - salmon, mullet, capelin.

IN mating season, gathers around the female a large number of males. They, as if enchanted, swim around the female and try to synchronously repeat her movements. The fastest winner gets the right to copulate.

Stingrays reproduce in two ways - viviparous or egg-laying. A viviparous individual carries one baby for about a year, which is born up to 10 kilograms and up to 1 meter long. After birth, the baby becomes independent, as the female loses all interest in him.

Oviparous rays lay capsuled eggs, the number of which does not exceed 10 pieces. When the fry emerges from the egg, it begins independent life, it feeds on plankton.

For humans, the stingray represents mortal danger. With its thorn, the fish can inflict a lacerated wound that is incompatible with life. An electric shock can lead to cardiac arrest.

Life expectancy depends on the size of the fish. The larger the stingray, the greater the likelihood of survival. On average, the duration ranges from 7 to 25 years.

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The stingray fish is the oldest inhabitant of the aquatic depths. Stingrays are mysterious creatures. They, together with their closest relatives, are the most ancient residents of the depths of the waters.

These creatures have so many interesting features, which is how they differ from other representatives of the fauna floating in the water. Scientists suggest that in prehistoric times the distant ancestors of stingrays differed little in structure, but the myriads of years that have passed have made these animals in no way similar, and the individuals of both species themselves have undergone significant changes.

Modern cramp-fish(on photo this is clearly noticeable in the animal) is characterized by an extremely flat body and a head, intricately fused with the pectoral fins, which gives this creature a fantastic appearance.

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

The lower parts of these flat creatures are usually lighter than the upper parts. On this side of the animal there are organs such as the mouth and nostrils, as well as five pairs of gills. The tail of such water inhabitants has a whip-shaped shape.

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

In size, these inhabitants of the depths also differ significantly from each other. There are individuals only a few centimeters long. Others are meter, and in some cases more (up to 7 meters) in size.

The body of stingrays is so flat and long, resembling a pancake rolled out with a rolling pin, that the edges on the sides of the creatures look like wings, representing pectoral fins. In some cases, their scope reaches two meters or more.

An example of this is the stingray, which is a member of the bracken family, the body length of which reaches up to five, and the span of its peculiar wings is up to two and a half meters. Scat – cartilaginous fish. This means that its insides are not built from bones, like those of sharks and other animals, but from cartilage.

The coloring of the stingray gives it the ability to camouflage itself on the seabed

The habitats of stingrays are as vast as their diversity. Such animals can be found in the depths of water all over the planet, even in the Arctic and Antarctic. But with the same success they settle down tropical waters.

The depth of the reservoirs that serve as shelter for animals similarly varies greatly. Stingray fish lives and is able to successfully take root in shallow water, but also perfectly adapts to exist at a depth of 2700 m.

Character and lifestyle of stingray fish

Amazing properties of various species of stingrays boggles the mind. For example, on the coasts of Australia you can see “flying stingrays”. There are also electric fish stingrays.

In the photo there are “flying” stingrays

And such strength, given to them by nature, turns out to be an excellent weapon in the fight for survival. Such creatures are capable of paralyzing the victim using their own electricity, which is produced by all stingrays, but it is this type produces it in quantities up to 220 volts.

Such a discharge, which is especially strong in water, is quite enough to paralyze certain parts of the human body, and even lead to death. The most interesting of species stingray fish – nautical devil. This animal huge size, weighing more than two tons.

Sailors created the most incredible legends about such creatures, the reasons for which were the unexpected appearance of such monstrous in size marine stingray fish from the abyss before the eyes of stunned travelers.

They jumped headlong out of the water and then disappeared into the depths, flashing their pointed tail, which often caused panic. However, the fears were groundless, and such creatures are completely harmless and even peaceful in nature.

In the photo there is a stingray "sea devil"

And cases of attacks on people for for a long time was not recorded. Quite the contrary, people often ate their nutritious and tasty meat, which is still a component and integral part many dishes, as well as a wide variety of exotic recipes.

But the process of hunting for a sea devil can turn into a dangerous activity, because the size of the animal allows it to overturn a boat with fishermen. The main part of the life of stingray fish passes at the bottom of reservoirs. These animals even rest by burying themselves in mud or sand. That is why respiratory system These animals are different from other fish.

They do not breathe through gills, but air enters their body through devices called squirters, which are located on its back. These organs are equipped with a special valve that helps protect the stingray’s body from foreign particles that enter from the bottom of the reservoir. All unnecessary debris, particles of sand and dirt are removed from the spray bottle released by the ramp using a stream of water.

Stingrays also move in a curious way, not using their tail at all when swimming. They flap their fins like butterflies, and their peculiar body shape helps the animals practically float in the water, which is why they are excellent swimmers.

Stingray nutrition

Cramp-fish- a predatory creature. Its main food is fish: salmon, sardines, mullet or capelin. Larger species may be tempted by such prey, as can crabs. Small varieties are content with plankton, as well as small fish.

The diversity of stingrays and their amazing capabilities also manifest themselves in obtaining food. To hunt for your victims different kinds These fantastic creatures use the weapons that nature has provided them with.

Electric Stingray Having overtaken the prey, it hugs it with its fins and stuns it with an electric discharge, expecting its death. And the weapon of the spiny-tailed stingray is its tail, studded with spines, which it thrusts into the enemy. When eating mollusks and crustaceans, it uses special protruding plates that replace teeth for this creature, grinding its prey with them.

Reproduction and lifespan of stingray fish

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

When carrying cubs, the mother’s body nourishes the embryos with peculiar outgrowths that penetrate into the oral cavity. A female sea devil is capable of giving birth to only one cub, but its size is very impressive, and its weight is about 10 kg. But a female electric ray, which gives birth to live cubs, is capable of increasing the genus of rays by sometimes 14 individuals.

Newborns are only 2 cm in size, but from the very first minute of their existence they are able to produce electricity. The lifespan of stingrays most often depends on size. Small species live on average from 7 to 10 years. The larger ones live longer, from about 10 to 18 years.

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

Stingrays (lat. Batoidea) are one of two superorders of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish. Contains five orders and fifteen families. Stingrays are characterized by a very “flattened” body and large pectoral fins fused to the head. The mouth, nostrils and five pairs of gills are on the flat and usually light-colored underside. The tail is whip-shaped. Most stingrays live in sea ​​water, however, there are also several freshwater species(motoro, etc.) The upper side of stingrays is adapted in color to a particular living space and can vary from light sand to black. On the upper side there are eyes and openings into which water penetrates for breathing - squirts (the first pair of gill slits). Stingrays inhabit all seas and oceans and live both in the cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as in the tropics; their habitat temperature range ranges from 1.5 to 30 °C. These fish are found both in shallow water and at depths of up to 2700 m. Most species of stingrays lead a bottom-dwelling lifestyle and feed on mollusks, crayfish and echinoderms. Pelagic species feed on plankton and small fish. The sizes of stingrays range from a few centimeters to 6-7 m in length. One of the most known species The ray is the manta ray (Manta birostris). Large sizes reach rays from the eagle family, whose fin span can reach 2.5 meters, and length - up to five meters; as well as stingrays from the stingray family, reaching 2.1 meters in width and up to 5.5 meters in length. Relatively large stingray catfish found in Black and Seas of Azov. A special “weapon” is endowed with a squad of electric stingrays, whose representatives, with the help of a special organ made of transformed muscles, can paralyze prey with electrical discharges from 60 to 230 volts and over 30 amperes. Reproduction Stingrays reproduce by laying enclosed eggs on the bottom or by viviparity. In electric rays and stingrays, special villi, or trophotenia, additionally develop in the uterus, supplying the embryo nutrients. Human interaction Stingray wings are a delicacy in Portuguese cuisine. In Korea, stingrays are eaten in the form of hwe (raw): a dish with them is called “hon'ohwe chumuchim” (Kor. ??? ???), this is a “regional specialization” of the South Korean province of Jeollado. Stingray leather is durable and has an unusual texture; it is used in the leather industry for the manufacture of wallets, belts, bags, briefcases, etc. Handles Japanese swords Katanas were covered with stingray skin. Some species of stingrays pose a danger to people. Powers electric current The energy generated by electric stingrays is enough to stun a person, and stingrays are capable of inflicting painful wounds. All species of sawfish rays are endangered or on the verge of extinction. Stingrays are a superorder of elasmobranch cartilaginous fishes, which includes 5 orders and 15 families. Stingrays are characterized by pectoral fins fused to the head and a rather flat body. Stingrays mainly live in the seas. Several freshwater species are also known to science. The color of the upper part of their body depends on where exactly the stingrays live. The latter can be either black or very light. Stingrays are related to sharks. Moreover, the closest relatives. External similarities, of course, is not observed. In terms of their internal composition, stingrays, like sharks, consist not of bones, but of cartilage. In ancient times, stingrays were similar to sharks not only internal structure, but also external features. However, time has changed them beyond recognition. Stingrays are different from each other. Firstly, in size. Nature knows stingrays only a few centimeters in size and stingrays whose size reaches 7 meters. Secondly, different stingrays also behave differently. Some stingrays do not mind, for example, jumping above the surface of the water, while most of these fish prefer to spend their time buried in the sand. Electric Stingray - scary fish. Much more terrible in its essence than, for example, the sea devil. The fact is that the cells of the electric stingray (it is also called ordinary or marbled) can generate electricity up to 220V (of course, the name of this stingray came from here). And how many divers have been exposed to electric current from these stingrays! It is worth noting the fact that all stingrays are capable of generating electricity, but not to the same extent as the electric stingray. The electric stingray has been known for a long time. Its dimensions can be determined as follows: approximately one and a half meters long and a meter wide. Weighs from twenty-five to thirty kilograms. Top part The body is covered with whitish and brown veins, and therefore the shades may vary. The female electric ray will give birth to live babies. From eight to fourteen cubs can be born at one time. Previously, it was believed that if the cubs were in any danger, the female would take them into her mouth. The cubs stay there until the danger is eliminated. But at present these data have not been confirmed. Electric rays are lazy creatures. They are very slow by nature. However, marble stingrays have a special power, which lies in the fact that the stingray can make any fish motionless just by touching it. Thanks to this unique ability The stingray does not need to move quickly - having buried itself in the sand, it simply waits for prey. Fish swimming near motionless electric rays quickly become sleepy and lethargic. In the immediate vicinity of a marble stingray, a fish may even die. Fishermen know about this unique ability of the stingray, the force of which reaches the hands through the net and forces them to release the nets. The venom of a living stingray can penetrate the human body even if he touches it with a stick. A dead stingray is completely safe.

Stingrays are related to sharks. First, What they have in common is that both do not have bones, they are replaced by cartilage. Second, they live in the depths of the sea. Third, that's what they drive 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, the appearance of which resembles thorns. The structure of these spines is similar to the structure of teeth. Immediately from the head there are huge pectoral fins, it seems that they are fused with the head. Stingrays swim with the help of these fins, the work of which sets the whole body in motion. This is how stingrays differ from their relatives - sharks, whose main thing in swimming is their powerful tail.


The teeth of stingrays fit tightly together and look like a grater. The eyes are located on top of the head, the eyeballs are tightly rooted to its base, which are completely devoid of blink reflexes. Stingrays vary in size: they can range from a few centimeters to seven meters in length.

Stingray habitats

Stingrays are mainly bottom dwellers and their favorite places to live are depths of the sea . Since they are predators, they happily eat small fish, crayfish, and mollusks, which they find at the bottom of reservoirs. Because they live mainly on the bottom of oceans and seas, the color of the dorsal part of stingrays changes from sandy to black. In this way they adapt to the changeable and treacherous bottom world and the color of their back changes for secrecy. 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 one meter, but there are also those that descend to an ocean depth of up to three kilometers.

Varieties of stingrays

There are more than four hundred species of stingrays in nature. Their appearance and lifestyle directly depend on their habitat.

Here, for example, 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 can be up to 7 meters. The manta ray looks very mesmerizing when it is swimming; it resembles a huge fairy-tale bird. A characteristic feature of this type of stingray is that, like dolphins, they 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, reaching up to 2.5 meters, and can stretch up to five meters in length. Stingrays of this variety have a kind of spike at the end of their tail, which they use for self-defense and can hit the enemy so that he flies far to the side.

Electric ramps– this type of stingray has natural gift, an electrical discharge that can protect the stingray from impending danger or paralyze the prey. The charge of electricity is located at the junction of the head of the stingray and pectoral fins. The discharge force of an ordinary stingray can reach up to 40 volts. This blow will be enough to stun the victim, paralyze him and then eat him.

Peculiarities of stingray reproduction

Female stingray, during mating games gathers around itself a huge number of males who, as if spellbound, synchronously repeat all the movements of the female. The most successful and agile male who wins these games receives the right to copulate with the female, which lasts only one and a half minutes.

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

• Stingray is the most stingray dangerous look for a person. On the tail of this species of stingray there is a huge spike, at the end of which there are poisonous cells. When receiving a portion of this poison, a person can be completely paralyzed and may fall to a minimum blood pressure, skeletal joints and muscles may become paralyzed without recovery.
• The eyes and mouth of a stingray are located in different places on the head and the stingray never sees what it absorbs while eating.
• People catch stingrays and use their skin to make belts and wallets, and eat the meat.
• In places where stingrays live, local residents and tourists try to get an electric shock from the stingray. It is believed that by receiving the desired shock of electricity from the stingray, people will get rid of many diseases such as back pain.
• Ancient people actively hunted stingrays tail-shaped. They used the spines of these stingrays to make arrows. In addition to the fact that they were very convenient for hunting, they were saturated with poison, which helped them in the fight against external enemies. Information about the characteristics, habitats, habits and consequences of encounters with a stingray is so interesting and informative that a whole book would not be enough to describe everything that interests people about these rather unusual creatures.