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With flat, wide bodies, stingrays may not look like fish, but they are!
They can be found in tropical and subtropical waters, because they like it shallow and warm. They’re usually hidden on the seafloor. But each of the 60 species of stingrays are fascinating in their own way.
Let’s take a look at the facts:
1. The largest species of stingray measure 6.5 feet in length and can weigh up to 790 pounds.
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Wowza. That’s a big fish.
2. Stingrays are closely related to sharks.
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They also don’t have a bony skeleton. Instead their bodies are made up of the same kind of cartilage in our noses and ears.
3. Their long tails usually have a spine and venom.
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They use this venom to protect them from predators. In fact, Greek dentists once used it as anesthetic.
4. Stingrays eat clams, shrimp, and mussels.
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Since their mouths on on the body side of their bodies, they catch their prey, then crush and eat with their powerful jaws.
5. Stingrays don’t use their eyes to find prey.
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Their eyes are on top of their bodies, but they use their electro-sensors to locate their next meal.
6. Stingrays are solitary, but can also live in groups.
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Those groups are known as schools.
7. Stingrays give birth each year.
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They can have between 2 and 6 babies a year, each which can live between 15 and 25 years in the wild.
Need more stingray facts? Visit nationalgeographic.com.