The value of rays in nature and human life. Stingrays: species, habitat and breeding characteristics What lifestyle do stingrays lead

Stingrays are truly unique deep inhabitants. For their appearance, they are often jokingly called flying carpets. These are one of the oldest fish on earth, in the process of existence, which have undergone great external changes. They have many differences from other inhabitants of the deep sea. These amazing fish are found in most parts of the world, from tropical countries to near-Arctic waters, in the shallows and at depths of over 2,700 meters.

Description of rays

Stingrays are a type of cartilaginous fish of the chordate type, having a flat body and wing-shaped pectoral fins fused to the body and head. The entire body of this fish is represented by a single plane. There are hundreds of types of stingrays. There are about 340 of them in total. According to the system of structure and reproduction, they are close to the marine predator - the shark.

Appearance

The entire body of the stingray fish is rounded to a single diamond shape.. It has large pectoral fins extending almost from the muzzle to the base of a thin tail. Some species are characterized by the presence of a sharp nose, the appearance of which provides the location of the rostral cartilage. The color of the slope can be monophonic or differ in a certain pattern. It ranges from light tones, to brown, gray, dark and even all sorts of spotted or patterned. On the body of a stingray, bright contrasting colors can be combined, or the coloring implies complete unity with nature in order to mask on the deep bottom.

It is interesting! The color scheme of the animal depends mainly on the territory of its habitat.

Most of them have spiny or spiny formations on the upper surface of the body. Other species boast of possessing a tail capable of emitting weak electrical discharges. Typical stingrays (Rajidae), which exist in the majority on the planet, have two dorsal fins on the tail. Rays of the species Arynchobatidae have one, while Anacanthobatidae do not have them at all. Mouths and gill openings in all species without exception are located on the underside of the body. Also, all species are united by the method of reproduction, they most often lay eggs, which are often found on beaches, oblong and protected by leathery boxes.

The unusual structure of the body of the stingray led to the fact that its main openings and external organs moved to the lower plane. In this part of the body there is a wide mouth with holes on the sides. In appearance, they resemble the pretty eyes of an animal. However, it is not. The dots act as sprinklers. It is thanks to these holes that the stingray can breathe, distilling water into them for further entry into the gills. The eyes themselves are located in the upper plane of the body. They range in size from large to small and completely inconspicuous when they are hidden in a skin fold, such as a blind stingray.

Such an unusual solution to the bodily structure of the stingray was forced to displace the swimming organs of the animal. The anal fin is reduced, while the pectorals form one large movable plane with the body, more like the wings of a bird. Their movement is also similar to the process of bird flight. The slope simultaneously raises them, then smoothly lowers them. It is this feature that gives the stingray excellent mobility, as well as the ability to move quickly and jump out of the water to a height of several meters.

It is interesting! It should be noted that not all species use pectoral fins. Some stingrays move with the help of muscular tail movements. In this way, fish with undeveloped small pectoral fins are forced to move.

Also, depending on the species and habitat, the sizes of the slopes also differ. The smallest representative of marine flat inhabitants reaches a length of only 15 centimeters. His name is Indian electric stingray. The largest representative is the sea devil, aka. This animal reaches a size of 6 to 7 meters, weighing about two and a half tons. Such a fish may well overturn a fishing boat. Although in itself this, albeit a strikingly large species, does not show aggression towards humans.

But this did not prevent him in ancient times from becoming the cause of panic horror that gripped sailors when he jumped out of the water. Its long whip-like tail and huge body made the sound of a cannon shot in the process of falling into the water, which could not but frighten uninformed sailors.

Character and lifestyle

Stingrays are quite common animals around the globe.. They can be found both in the polar zones and in the tropics. Some of them annually migrate over long distances, while others vice versa. Some do not leave the warm waters, others stubbornly prefer to roam along the cold currents. Despite the fact that these are solitary animals, they can often be found formed in mass aggregations.

They also occupy different depths. The stingray can live at a depth of 2700 meters, as well as in shallow water. The main similarity of the placement is mainly dwelling at the bottom. Stingrays love to literally burrow into accumulations of silt or sand at the bottom. Their flat body shape is very suitable for bottom dwelling. Basically, these animals live in salty seas and oceans, and only a few species have mastered fresh water. Not afraid to swim away from the coast and the bottom only manta rays. Its gigantic size does not give the animal cause for concern.

How long do stingrays live

The lifespan of stingrays depends on their size. The larger the animal, the longer it can survive. Average rates range from 7 to 25 years.

sexual dimorphism

These animals have pronounced sexual dimorphism. The male differs sharply from the female even in infancy. It's all about the genitals, which are located in the corners of the ventral fins of the stingray. In infancy, they are represented by small, inconspicuous tubercles; by the time of puberty, the tubercles take the form of oblong tubes, reaching several centimeters in medium-sized individuals.

Types of rays

Scientists distinguish the following orders of stingrays, including electric, tail-shaped, sawtoothed and stingrays. The species include such names as stingrays, bracken, gnus, guitar, 7 species of sawflies and narcins.

Stingray diet

Rays are predators by nature. Only the smallest representatives of the species are forced, due to their size, to feed on plankton, small mollusks, octopuses and worms. The rest of the stingrays hunt prey. Larger fish can become a victim of a large stingray.

Reproduction and offspring

Stingrays are very interesting animals.. They can both lay eggs and give birth to live young. The female throws eggs on algae, the structure of which allows them to successfully attach to them. To do this, there are small strings on the sac of each embryo.

The number of cubs of one female depends on the specific species. For example, a manta gives birth to only one cub at a time, which weighs approximately 10 kilograms. Others produce more. In one breeding cycle, an adult animal can lay from 5 to 50 eggs. The development of the embryos also varies.

It is interesting! Viviparous species, on the other hand, grow embryos in a cavity similar to the uterus of a mammal. Through it, food for them also comes, through its special processes.

Active, formed and viable fry are born as a result of both births. Some of them even have the ability to accumulate an electric charge.

The stingray is the oldest cartilaginous sea bird fish with paired electrical organs. There are 4 families of electric rays, 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. The largest representative of the rays is the Sea Devil (Manta), which grows up to 7 meters wide and can weigh up to 3.5 tons.

The 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, as 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 feels near swimming fish and the beating of their heart.

Nutrition

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

Rays of small sizes eat shellfish, worms, crabs and octopuses.

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

The stingrays hunt for their prey. Sometimes he paralyzes the fish with electrical impulses that are fatal for small fish.

reproduction

The appearance of offspring depends on the type of slope. 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.

That they are viviparous, that they are born from eggs, stingrays are full-fledged, adapted to underwater life, only small in size. From the first minutes of life, rays can produce electricity. 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 leather.
• The manta ray makes periodic jumps from the water, which is similar to flying over water.
• Manta rays, although large, 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 the ancient old-timers of deep waters. Their uniqueness is that while swimming, the fish moves only due to the fins, without the help of the tail, while resembling the flight of a butterfly.

The habitat of the stingray is the seas and oceans. Some species live in fresh water. 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 long tail. There are kidney-shaped organs on the sides that generate electricity for catching food or self-defense. The power of the electric discharge is about 220 volts. The fish has poor eyesight.

The color of the stingray depends on the environment, 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 diet of the animal is mainly fish or carrion. Small representatives feed on marine plankton, and large ones feed on salmon, mullet, capelin.

During the mating season, a large number of males gather around the female. They, as if bewitched, swim around the female and try to synchronously repeat her movements. The most agile winner gets the right to copulate.

Stingrays reproduce in two ways - they are viviparous or lay eggs. A viviparous individual, bears 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 eggs enclosed in a capsule, the number of which does not exceed 10 pieces. When a fry emerges from an egg, it begins an independent life, it feeds on plankton.

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

Lifespan depends on the size of the fish. The larger the slope, the more likely it is to survive. On average, the duration ranges from 7 to 25 years.

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The stingray fish is the oldest inhabitant of the water depths. Stingrays are mysterious creatures. They, together with their closest relatives, are the oldest old-timers of the depths of the waters.

These creatures have a lot of interesting features, and this is what distinguishes them from other representatives of the fauna floating in the water. Scientists suggest that in prehistoric times, distant ancestors and stingrays differed little in structure, but the myriad of past years made these animals in no way similar, and the individuals of both species themselves underwent significant changes.

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

The color of the animal largely depends on its habitat: sea waters and fresh water. 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 elasmobranch cartilaginous fish.

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

The body of the rays 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 the pectoral fins. In some cases, their range reaches two meters or more.

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

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

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

The depth of reservoirs that serve as a haven for animals, likewise varies greatly. The 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.

The nature and lifestyle of stingray fish

Amazing properties of various stingray species strike the imagination. For example, "flying rays" can be observed on the coasts of Australia. There are also electric fish stingrays.

In the photo "flying" rays

And such a force given to them by nature turns out to be an excellent weapon in the struggle for survival. Such creatures are able to paralyze the victim using their own electricity, which is produced by all rays, but it is this species that produces it in an amount of up to 220 volts.

Such a discharge, which is especially strong in water, is quite enough to paralyze individual parts of the human body, and even lead to death. The most interesting of the species stingray fish – nautical devil. This is an animal of enormous size, exceeding two tons in weight.

About such creatures, sailors composed the most incredible legends, the causes of which were the unexpected appearances of such monstrous in size maritime stingray fish from the abyss before the eyes of stunned travelers.

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

In the photo, the slope "sea devil"

And there were no cases of attacks on people for a long time. On the contrary, a person often ate their nutritious and tasty meat, which is still a component and an integral part of many dishes, as well as a wide variety of exotic recipes.

That's just the process of hunting for the sea devil can turn into a dangerous occupation, because the size of the animal completely allows it to turn over the boat with the fishermen. The main part of the life of the stingray fish passes at the bottom of the reservoirs. These animals even rest by burrowing into mud or sand. That is why the respiratory system of these animals is different from other fish.

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

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

Stingray food

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

The variety of stingrays and their amazing abilities are also manifested in the extraction of food. To hunt for their victims, various types of these fantastic creatures use the weapons that nature has provided them with.

An electric stingray, having overtaken a prey, hugs it with its fins and stuns it with an electric discharge, waiting for its death. And the weapon of the prickly-tailed stingray is a tail studded with spikes, which it sticks into the enemy. Eating mollusks and crustaceans, he uses special protruding plates that replace the teeth of this creature, grinding his prey with them.

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.

Stingrays are flying carpets of the underwater world, because this is what they call cartilaginous fish with a flat body shape. Representatives of this systematic group are very diverse, therefore they are combined into several orders that make up a single superorder Stingrays. There are about 340 species of these fish in the world. Systematically, they are all close to sharks.

Common electric stingray (Torpedo marmorata).

Due to the strong flattening of the body, the gill openings in these fish have completely moved to the underside of the body. There is also a wide mouth. Small holes can be seen on both sides of the mouth. Uninformed people may mistake them for tiny eyes, in fact, these are squirts. Through them, the stingray pumps water into the gill slits to breathe. Real eyes are located on the rays on the upper side of the body. In different species, their size ranges from large to small, and in a blind electric stingray, they are completely hidden under the skin.

The cheerful faces of sea foxes (Raja clavata) are not really faces, but just the underside of the body of stingrays.

In connection with such anatomical features, the organs of movement also underwent changes. The anal fin in stingrays was reduced, and the pectorals fused with the body, turning into flat "wings". In some stingrays, the wings-fins are relatively small and do not take part in the movement; the main pusher in them, like in other fish, is a muscular tail. In other species, on the contrary, the pectoral fins are huge, and the tail is thin and weak. When such a fish swims, it simultaneously raises and lowers its fins and seems to fly in the water column. By the way, this method of movement allows the stingrays to develop greater speed and even jump out of the water several meters.

East American Bullhead, or Bullhead (Rhinoptera bonasus) decided to break away from the pack and went on a "flight".

The size and color of these fishes vary widely. Among them there are both monochromatic (gray, black, brown) and very colorful species (spotted, patterned).

The blue-ringed reef stingray (Taeniura lymma) is able to change its body color from bluish to olive, while the spots turn blue, then turn blue.

The smallest Indian electric stingray reaches only 14 cm in length, and the largest - manta, or sea devil - reaches a length of 6-7 m and weighs 2.5 tons! When this giant jumps out of the water, his body falls into the ocean with a cannon roar.

Manta, or sea devil (Manta birostris), swimming with two sticks on the sides, resembles a Stealth aircraft armed with missiles.

No less diverse are the habitats of stingrays. These fish are found in all climatic zones - from the tropics to the polar regions. Some species prefer cold waters all year round, others do not leave the limits of warm currents, and there are those that migrate over long distances.

Although by nature most stingrays are solitary, some species can form large aggregations. This flock of East American bullnose, migrating from Mexico to Florida, has about 10,000 individuals.

Stingrays can be found in shallow water and at depths up to 2000-2700 m. Most of them inhabit the seas and oceans, and only stingrays from the river stingray family have mastered the fresh waters of South and Central America.

One of the rare freshwater species is the tiger ray (Potamotrygon tigrina).

As a rule, these fish lead a demersal lifestyle, for which a flat body shape is just right. But the giant manta is not afraid to swim away from the coast and the bottom, its large size protects it from enemies.

A diver encountered a manta ray "face to face" off the Revillaguigedos Islands (Mexico). For humans, these giants do not pose any danger.

Various aquatic animals become prey for stingrays. Small species eat worms, bottom mollusks, crayfish, crabs, small octopuses. Large ones catch fish: sardines, haddock, capelin, mullet, flounder, cod, eels, salmon often become their victims. But the huge manta, on the contrary, feeds on plankton and the smallest fish. She simply filters her prey by passing water through the gills. However, the most unusual fishing methods are practiced by electric and sawfish rays, or sawfish (not to be confused with sawnose sharks!). The former have electrical organs controlled by a special part of the brain. "Batteries" are able to accumulate a charge and discharge at the right time, with a current strength of 7-8 amers, the voltage for different types can reach from 80 to 300 volts. For small animals, such an electric shock is fatal, for a person it is at best very painful, at worst it can cause long-term paralysis of the limbs. As for the sawfish, its snout is elongated in the form of a board, studded along the edges with sharp teeth. With the help of this tool, the sawfish digs in the ground, loosens it, and breaking into a flock of fish, beats on the sides and suppresses its victims.

Green sawfish, or sawfish (Pristis zijsron).

Interestingly, stingrays, along with their closest relatives, sharks, have an extremely developed reproductive system. When breeding, they either lay egg capsules or give birth to live young. In the first case, the female lays 1-2 eggs with a break of 1-5 days. The breeding cycle can stretch for months, during this period one adult has time to lay from 4-5 to 50 eggs. Each egg is dressed in a cornea, the corners of this bag end with threads, with their help the egg capsule is attached to the soil or algae. The development of the embryo in different species lasts from 4 to 14 months. This is a very long time for fish, but not a fry comes out of the egg, but a fully formed young stingray. In viviparous species, fry develop in the mother's body in a special organ, similar to the uterus of mammals. The main source of nutrition for them is the yolk of the egg, in addition, the embryos suck the liquid that the processes of the "womb" secrete. This way of feeding is similar to feeding with milk in animals.

Stingray egg capsule.

In nature, only the manta can boast of relative safety, which, due to its huge size, no one dares to attack. The rest of the species become victims of all kinds of predatory fish, especially sharks. To protect the stingrays have developed a number of adaptations. Some species rely on a protective coloration and a flat body shape that masks them against the background of the ground. In the daytime, bottom stingrays are inactive and prefer to rest on the bottom, covering themselves with sand. Pelagic species rely on high speed and the ability to jump out of the water. Electric ramps are protected by current discharges.

But the most dangerous are the stingrays. These fish have an inconspicuous spike 10-37 cm long in the middle part of the tail. On the lower surface of the spike there is a groove dotted with poisonous cells. The pursued stingray beats with all its might with its tail from side to side, its prick with a thorn is extremely painful, and for a person it is also very dangerous. Even in relatively harmless river stingrays, venom can lead to limb paralysis, and toxins from marine species cause a sharp drop in blood pressure, vomiting, and paralysis of skeletal muscles. The most famous victim of these fish is the popular Australian naturalist Steve Irwin, who was stabbed right in the chest with a needle.

Sea cat (Dasyatis pastinaca) is a typical representative of stingrays (a poisonous spike is visible in the middle of the tail). In summer, it is found in the Black and Azov Seas.

Some species of these fish are objects of amateur and commercial fishing. The meat of the Mediterranean stag (mobula) and the liver of a sea cat are considered especially tasty. At the same time, large species of skates need protection, like fish with low fertility. Due to their flat body shape, stingrays are not suitable for keeping in home aquariums, as they require spacious containers. But they can often be seen in public aquariums, where the friendly, non-poisonous species are everyone's favourites. These fish willingly allow themselves to be stroked and take food from the hands of visitors.

"Smiling" stingrays while feeding in the aquarium of New Orleans (USA).

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 in the 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 known as 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 are the best friends for curious divers who can swim side by side with these giants.
4. Rays are directly related to sharks.. These two species are the best known members of the class of cartilaginous fish that lack a bony skeleton. Although they are predators, plankton and small crustaceans living on the ocean floor are enough for them to feed.
5. Female sea devil bears 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. A kind of dance takes place, 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 a kind of traditional medicine sessions. 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 should be large in size, and a person should not just touch it with his finger, but practically hug the fish.
   
9. [b] In marble electric stingrays, the heart is reduced only 15 times per minute, which allows them to burrow into the sand, lie on the bottom without moving for several days. The low oxygen content in the water and the high pressure are no problem for 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 Azov Seas. Like all stingrays, it is poisonous. That does not interfere with its industrial fishing. Stingray meat is considered a delicacy in many countries, and Sea Cat liver is 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, having got yourself such a pet, it is worth remembering that the spikes on his tail are as poisonous as those of the "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 (rhombus) stingray extends all the way to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and the seas surrounding it.
14. Sawfish ray - the oldest fossil of the Mesozoic era, the extraction of which is prohibited. Revered by the Aztecs, some Asian peoples. The saw served as a sacred symbol, with which it was possible to exorcise spirits, treat diseases.
15. Steve Irwin, a TV presenter from Australia, was killed on the set of his program by a stingray thorn hitting him right in the heart.

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