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A stingray's barb (ruler in mm). The barb is covered with rows of flat spines, composed of vasodentin. Vasodentin is an incredibly strong cartilaginous material which can easily cut through flesh. The undersides of the spines contain two longitudinal grooves which run along the length of the spine and enclose venom-secreting cells.
The stinger of a stingray is known also as the spinal blade. It is located in the mid-area of the tail and can secrete venom. The ruler measures 10cm. Stingrays are not usually aggressive and ordinarily attack humans only when provoked, such as when they are accidentally stepped on. [34] Stingrays can have one, two or three blades.
While swimming in chest-deep water, 44-year-old Steve Irwin approached a stingray, with an approximate span of two metres (6 ft 7 in), from the rear, in order to film it swimming away. While the stingray has been described by most sources as a short-tail stingray, others have suggested that it may have been an Australian bull ray.
Deaths from stingray venom are rare, but the most notable example is “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, who died after a short-tailed stringray’s barb pierced his heart in 2006.
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Mantas evolved from bottom-dwelling stingrays, eventually developing more wing-like pectoral fins. [8] M. birostris still has a vestigial remnant of a sting barb in the form of a caudal spine. [9] The mouths of most rays lie on the underside of the head, while in mantas, they are right at the front. [10]
Stingrays, including the cownose ray, can pose a low to moderate risk to humans. Rays will lash their tails when threatened, posing a risk of being whipped. If threatened, the cownose ray can also use their barb as a weapon to sting the aggressor. A sting from a cownose ray can cause a very painful wound that requires medical attention once stung.
Unlike many other stingrays, this species seldom buries itself in sand. [13] The bluespotted ribbontail ray excavates sand pits in search of molluscs, polychaete worms, shrimps, crabs, and small benthic bony fishes; when prey is located, it is trapped by the body of the ray and maneuvered into the mouth with the disc.