If you've ever come across a rectangular, black, leathery pouch with horns extending from each corner while strolling the beach, you've found a skate egg case. Skates, however, are oviparous, which means they lay eggs. Stingrays are viviparous, which means they give birth to fully formed young. The reproductive strategies of these two elasmobranchs are vastly different. A would-be predator, like a shark or grouper, that spots a skate may think twice about biting down on these thorn-like adornments. These "thorns" aren't venomous like a stingray's spines, but they're also used for protection.
Instead of stinging spines, skates' tails are lined with blunt, thorny projections, which also line skates' backs.
#Manta ray and stingray difference skin
Stingrays typically aren't aggressive but will protect themselves when threatened by raising their tails up, piercing the skin of their predators and injecting the venom. These sharp, serrated spines deliver venom into predators-or into the feet of humans that accidentally step on a buried stingray, which can be extremely painful, but rarely fatal. If you take a look at a stingray's tail, you'll find their namesake stinging spines, or barbs, which they use as protection. oviparous-there are more differences between stingrays and skates than meets the eye. Finally, recognizable by its colorful pattern, the bluespotted ribbontail ray is common at reefs in the Red Sea, Southeast Asia, and the Great Barrier Reef.Stinging spines vs. In Tahiti and Moorea, the pink whipray is common in the lagoons. In some snorkeling sites in Cayman Islands, Belize or Antigua, they are even tamed and fed by local tour operators. You can see it randomly almost everywhere in the archipelago. The Southern stingray is the most common ray in the Caribbean. Here at Maupiti Cleaning Station, French Polynesia. The “cleaning stations”, where the mantas come to get their skin, gills, and teeth cleaned by small cleaner wrasse, are some of the best spots to swim with these spectacular fish. The reef manta ray, which lives in all tropical seas of the world, is common in the Maldives reef drop-offs, in the Tuamotu Islands passes, or on some specific spots in Big Island and Indonesia.Īetobatus ocellatus (found in the Indopacific, and really abundant in Seychelles), Aetobatus laticeps (which occurs in the Eastern Pacific) and Aetobatus narinari (found in the Caribbean), the spotted eagle rays, are almost indistinguishable from each other. It is relatively easy for snorkelers to spot rays. What are the rays and stingray species I’m likely to see when snorkeling? Some other species, like torpedo rays (however much rarer), can produce an electric discharge in case of danger.
This is particularly the case for stingrays, which also have one or more poisonous stings at the base of the tail, which can cause serious injuries. Ecotourism-provided food is unfortunately drastically changing the behavior of these stingrays, causing local environmental issues. Stingray feeding is practiced in many tropical locations, like here at Shark Ray Alley, in Belize. While some rays, such as the oceanic manta ray (the largest ray species, which can reach 7m in wingspan) generally “fly” in open water, some others are bottom swimmers. There are as many as 500 ray species in the world. Rays are majestic fish, which can be distinguished by their flattened bodies and their winglike fins.
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