Stingray - life of stingray fish in the wild
Stingrays are neither threatened nor endangered species. They
derive their name from their slender, whip-like tails equipped
with venomous spines. Stingrays are neither threatened nor
endangered species. They've been hunted for centuries for their
meat and also today stingrays are marketed for food in various
countries around the world, principally in Europe and Asia.
General characteristics of stingrays
Stingrays can be found in the major oceans; Atlantic, Indian and
Pacific Oceans. Most stingrays are marine, living in salt water
but they can be found in freshwater and where salt and fresh
water mix (brackish water). The shape as can be seen in the
pictures, the side of the head has a continuous shape with the
outer side margin of the pectoral fin, the fins that look like
wings.
They breath by drawing water through a small hole behind the eye
and expel the water through gill slits on the underside of the
disc. The dorsal fin or backward fin, does not exist or
sometimes are hard to distinguish. The disc is about 1.2 times
as broad as the length.
The stingray does not have a tail fin (cuadal fin). Instead it
has a tail and it looks like a whip with a long venomous spine
on the tail. The spine is replaced every four months. Most
species have at least 1 long venomous spine on the tail, and
some stingrays that are seen to have two.
Injuries to humans from stingrays occur when an unsuspecting
person steps on a ray, causing the creature to reflexively
strike out with its tail. The stinger apparatus then injects a
toxin, causing immediate shooting pain. Although there is no
known antidote for their toxin, it's rarely fatal for humans.
The largest of these is the specie is Trygonidae with a total
length of about 4 meters and is approximately 4.8 meters in
total width.
Behavior of stingrays
They live in the bottom parts of shallow tropical waters.
Looking carefully, you are likely to find them lying on a
seabed, buried or partially covered with sand. They can move
very rapidly when threatened or in pursuit of a passing fish.
They also eat mollusks and crustaceans, crushing then with their
flat, strong teeth.
Most of stingrays are not especially afraid of humans. When
approached, they swim gently to another place naturally avoiding
too close contact. In many places around the world they became
tourist attraction, where people can swim together or even feed
them.
Stingray leather
There are very few stingray species that provide suitable leather hides. These
are called "scaly species". The skin of these stingrays consists
of thousands of tiny rock-hard pearls or scales. This stingray leather is exceptionally strong and by many is
called the most durable leather in the world.
It's definitely fire, water, tear and "cut" resistant.
The reason of these features lies in the structure of the
leather. In regular leather, the fibres of the leather run
parallel to each other, whereas in stingray leather the fibres
run in all directions. In addition, all the tiny pearls with
their roots are grown into the bottom layer of the leather, to
the effect that you can neither tear the leather apart, nor cut
it easily with the knife.
There are many products that can be made from stingray leather; handbag
s, purses and wallets<
/a> for example. There are also coin
purses and key
wallets, too. One can choose from a variety of colors and
sizes, all genuine exotic stingray leather.