Hypanus americanus
Fast Facts
- Southern stingrays visit ‘cleaning stations’ where Bluehead wrasses and Spanish hogfish eat parasites and mucus from the stingrays’ bodies.
- They can crush hard shells with their flat teeth.
- If threatened or stepped on, a ray raises its tail overhead, scorpion style, and drives its spine into the intruder. For humans, the pain is intense, and the jagged wound takes time to heal.
- Hammerhead sharks use their specially designed heads to prey upon stingrays.
Range
Southern Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico
Habitat
Benthic, sand and sea grass; deep and shallow waters with sandy bottoms
Size
Up to six feet wide (females), and 2.5 feet (males)
Nutrition
Bivalves, worms, small fish, and crustaceans