Rays
Southern Stingray
Hypanus americanus · Cartilaginous fish, family Dasyatidae
The southern stingray is Caribbean sand made animate: a gray-brown diamond that erupts from an apparently empty bottom, wingtips rippling, whip tail trailing, a cloud of silt hanging where it lay. Watch a flat for ten minutes and its excavation pits reveal a workaday hunter that spends its life reading the sediment for buried shellfish. At Grand Cayman's sandbar the species runs a second career greeting visitors by the dozen, velvet wings brushing snorkelers in water hip-deep, an interaction refined by rules on feeding and handling. In its wild mode it is wary, quick, and best appreciated from a body length away.
Onde e quando ver um
"Residente" significa que a maioria dos mergulhos naquele destino os encontra; "sazonal" significa presença confiável nos meses listados; qualquer outra coisa é um bônus, não um plano.
| Destino | Fiabilidade | Meses | Notas |
|---|---|---|---|
| BonaireBonaire | Resident: seen on most dives | Todo o ano | |
| Grand CaymanCayman Islands | Resident: seen on most dives | Todo o ano | |
| Belize Barrier ReefBelize | Resident: seen on most dives | Todo o ano | |
| Florida KeysUnited States | Occasional | Todo o ano |
Melhor mês, em resumo
| Mês | Destinos fiáveis |
|---|---|
| January | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| February | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| March | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| April | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| May | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| June | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| July | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| August | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| September | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| October | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| November | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
| December | Bonaire · Grand Cayman · Belize Barrier Reef · Florida Keys |
Entendendo-os
Habitat: Sand flats, lagoons, and seagrass beds; buries itself to the eyes between foraging bouts
Distribuição: Western Atlantic from the mid-US coast through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean to southern Brazil
Comportamento: A diamond-shaped bottom forager that leaves feeding pits across every Caribbean sand flat, usually trailed by a jack or snapper hoping for leftovers. Ordinarily retiring: the famous boldness at Grand Cayman's Stingray City is learned behavior from decades of fishermen's scraps, now managed as a wildlife attraction.
Dieta: Worms, crustaceans, and small fish excavated from sand with jets of water and flapping wings
Tamanho: normalmente cerca de 1.0 m; documentado até 1.5 m (disc width; large females dwarf males).
Como se comportar perto de um
At interaction sites follow staff handling rules and keep feeding to guides; on ordinary dives, don't hover directly over a buried ray, don't dig them out, and give feeding animals space to work.
Conservação
Near Threatened; inshore fishing and habitat loss press on it outside protected areas, while interaction-site populations are monitored for the effects of feeding and handling.
Pontos mapeados conhecidos por eles
Os locais destacados foram cartografados para esta espécie pelos nossos editores; os números são registos de ocorrência do GBIF num raio de cerca de 5 km do local desde 1990.
Assista
Dos canais oficiais
Wildlife of Monterey | New film in our auditorium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Os vídeos são ligações incorporadas para os canais dos próprios criadores. Não alojamos nada e creditamos tudo.