Short-tail Stingray

Fascinating facts about the Short-tail Stingray

• One of the largest stingrays in the world, the short-tail stingray can grow upwards of 2.1 m (6.9 ft) across and weigh 350 kg (770 lb). It is the biggest stingray known, reaching at least 2.1 m in width, 4.3 m (14 ft) in length and the same 350 kg weight, and some observers have even spotted individuals nearly 3 m (10 ft) across.
• This ray lives from the intertidal zone down to 156 m (512 ft) off Australia and New Zealand, but prefers deeper offshore banks of 180-480 m (590-1,570 ft) around southern Africa. A tracking study of two New Zealand individuals showed they move to deeper water in winter yet never travel long distances, indicating a strong fidelity to a relatively small home range.
• The short-tail stingray is aplacental viviparous: embryos first use yolk, then switch to histotroph, a nutrient-rich "uterine milk" from the mother. Females usually give birth to six-to-10 pups each summer, though litters as large as fifteen have been recorded, and newborns are 32-36 cm (13-14 in) wide. This reproductive strategy allows the young to develop fully inside the mother.
• Every summer (January to April) the rays gather in huge numbers at New Zealand's Poor Knights Islands. Both mating and birthing have been observed there, and copulation lasts only 3-5 minutes, with a female often followed by several males before a successful partner flips upside down to insert his clasper.
• Although shy, the short-tail stingray can deliver a lethal wound: its sting measures over 30 cm (12 in) long, can pierce kevlar boots, and its mucus sheath contains a toxin that causes necrosis. The ray is responsible for most stingray injuries in New Zealand, including the fatal incident that claimed Steve Irwin's life when the barbed tail pierced his chest. Knowing the sting's potency underscores the need for caution when divers or fishers encounter these giants.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

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