Featured Image Credit: Rick Stuart-Smith
By Jessica Kittel
There are a number of Newport Aquariums, there’s even one in Northern Kentucky! It’s this particular Newport Aquarium that recently welcomed a new addition to their aquarium family, a fantail stingray!
This newcomer was brought in to be a part of the aquarium’s newest exhibit, Stingray Hideaway, as reported on wlwt.com. As the name suggests, the new exhibit centers on various species of stingrays and their environment and is located near the Surrounded by Sharks exhibit. Newportaquarium.com says this exhibit includes salt and freshwater rays such as Orange Spotted rays, White Spotted rays, Honeycomb Whiptail rays, Yellow stingrays, Southern stingrays, and cownose sting rays.
The fantail ray that now resides at the Newport Aquarium was raised under professional care, according to Michelle Fry, an aquarium biologist. The fantail ray was born at the Georgia Aquarium until he was large enough to make it in the large tank at the Newport Aquarium that will now be his permanent home. The ray was brought in at 110 pounds so I should hope he’s big enough.
Fantail rays (Taeniura meyeni) can grow to be 6 feet wide and over 300 pounds, according to floridamuseum.ufl.edu. Rays are closely related to sharks as they are both cartilaginous fish (i.e. they lack bones).
Learn more from our sources: WLFWT5, Newport Aquarium, and the Florida Museum.