Common stingray
Encyclopedia
The common stingray is a species of stingray
in the family
Dasyatidae, found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean
and the Mediterranean
and Black Sea
s. It typically inhabits sandy or muddy habitat
s in coastal waters shallower than 60 m (196.9 ft), often burying itself in sediment. Usually measuring 45 cm (17.7 in) across, the common stingray has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc slightly wider than long, and a whip-like tail with upper and lower fin folds. It can be identified by its plain coloration and mostly smooth skin, except for a row of tubercles along the midline of the back in the largest individuals.
The predominant prey of the common stingray are bottom-dwelling crustacean
s, though it also takes molluscs, polychaete worms, and small bony fishes. It is aplacental viviparous: the embryo
s are nourished by yolk and later histotroph ("uterine milk") produced by the mother. Females bear 4–9 young twice per year in shallow water, after a gestation period
of four months. The common stingray can inflict a painful, though rarely life-threatening, wound with its venom
ous tail spine. During classical antiquity
, its sting was ascribed many mythical properties. This species is not sought after by commercial fisheries
, but is taken in large numbers as bycatch
and utilized for food, fishmeal, and liver oil
. Its population is apparently dwindling across its range, though there is not yet sufficient data for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to assess it beyond Data Deficient
.
, the common stingray was known as trygon (τρυγών) to the ancient Greeks and as pastinaca to the ancient Romans. An old common name
for this species, used in Great Britain
since at least the 18th century, is "fire-flare" or "fiery-flare", which may refer to the reddish color of its meat.
The first formal scientific description of the common stingray, as Raja pastinaca, was authored by the father of taxonomy
Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 tenth edition
of Systema Naturae
. It has since been placed in the genus Dasyatis. There are at least 25 earlier references to this ray in literature, under various non-binomial names such as Raja corpore glabro, aculeo longo anterius serrato in cauda apterygia, Pastinaca marina prima, and Pastinaca marina lævis. Many of these early accounts, including Linnaeus', also incorporated information from other species. Consequently, the designation of a lectotype
is warranted in the interests of taxonomic stability, but this has yet to be enacted.
The blue stingray
(Dasyatis chrysonota) of southern Africa
has long been regarded as a variant of the common stingray. However, the common stingray lacks the blue markings of the other species and differs in morphological
and meristic characters, which led the latter to be definitively recognized as a separate species by Paul Cowley and Leonard Compagno
in 1993. The distinction between this species and the similar Tortonese's stingray
(D. tortonesei) of the Mediterranean
is poorly understood and may not be valid, requiring further investigation.
In 2001, Lisa Rosenberger published a phylogenetic analysis of 14 Dasyatis species, based on morphology. The common stingray was reported to be the most basal member of the genus, other than the bluespotted stingray
(D. kuhlii) and pelagic stingray
(D. violacea). However, D. violacea has generally been recognized as belonging to its own genus Pteroplatytrygon, and recently D. kuhlii has also been placed in a different genus, Neotrygon
.
The common stingray is found throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea
s. It also occurs, though in significantly lower numbers, in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean
from southern Norway
and the western Baltic Sea
to Madeira
and the Canary Islands
. This bottom-dwelling species can be found from the shore to a depth of 200 m (656.2 ft), though it is not usually found deeper than 60 m (196.9 ft). It favors sandy or muddy bottoms in calm water, and is also sometimes encountered near rocky reef
s or in estuaries, as it is tolerant of low salinity
. Off the Azores
, common stingrays are most abundant in summer and least abundant in winter, suggestive of a seasonal shift in range and/or depth as has been documented in other ray species.
s (paired respiratory
openings), which are placed closely behind. There are 28–38 upper tooth rows and 28–43 lower tooth rows; the teeth are small and blunt, and arranged into flattened surfaces. There are five papillae (nipple-like structures) across the floor of the mouth.
The tail
is slender and whip-like, measuring approximately half as long as the disc. A stinging spine with strong serrations, measuring up to 35 cm (13.8 in) long and equipped with a venom gland at its base, is positioned about a third of the distance along the tail. A second or even third spine may also be present, as the spines are regularly replaced and new spines grow in before existing ones have been shed. The tail behind the spine bears a low cutaneous fold on top and a short, deep fold underneath. The body and tail are smooth, save for a few dermal denticles on the leading edge of the disk; older individuals may also develop a row of bony knobs along the midline of the back. This species is a solid gray, brown, reddish, or olive-green above, and whitish below with dark fin margins. Young rays may have white spots.
s, including crustacean
s, cephalopod
s, bivalves, polychaete worms, and small bony fishes. It is reportedly does great damage to cultured
shellfish
beds. One study in the Gulf of İskenderun
off Turkey
found that crustaceans comprised some 99% of its diet, with fish prey becoming increasingly important with age. Another study off the coast of Cilicia
, Turkey, found the most important dietary component to be the penaeid shrimp
Metapenaeus stebbingi, followed by the pistol shrimp Alpheus glaber and the swimming crab Charybdis longicollis; cephalopods were relatively important for males, while fishes were important for females. Common stingrays have been observed closely following each other in the presence of food, possibly to take advantage of other individuals' foraging success.
Like other stingrays, the common stingray is aplacental viviparous: the embryo
s are initially sustained by yolk, which is later supplemented by histotroph ("uterine milk", enriched with protein
s, fat
, and mucus
) delivered by the mother through numerous extensions of the uterine
epithelium
called trophonemata. Females bear two litters of 4–9 pups per year in shallow inshore waters, following a gestation period
of four months. Various authors have generally reported birthing in summer, between May and September or over a narrower timeframe such as July to August. Mature rays are known to aggregate off the Balearic Islands
from mid-June to July, possibly for reproductive purposes. Newborns measure about 8 cm (3.1 in) across and 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Males reach sexual maturity
at 22–32 cm (8.7–12.6 in) across, and females at 24–38 cm (9.4–15 in) across. The oldest known individual from the wild was ten years of age, but the species has lived up to 21 years in captivity. Known parasites of the common stingray include the fluke
s Heterocotyle pastinacae and Entobdella diadema, and the tapeworm Scalithrium minimum.
ous tail spine. The ancient Greeks and Romans greatly feared its venom, with authors such as Aelian
(175–235 AD) stating that stingray wounds were incurable. The Roman naturalist
Pliny the Elder
(23–79 AD), in his Natural History, asserted that its spine was capable of killing trees, piercing armor like an arrow
, and corroding
iron
. Greek poet Oppian
(172–210 AD) claimed that the touch of stingray venom could even dissolve stone. In Greek mythology
, Hercules
was said to have lost a finger to the bite of a stingray, and Circe
was said to have armed her son Telegonus
with a spear tipped with a stingray spine, with which he accidentally slew his father Odysseus
.
British zoologist Francis Day
, in his 1884 The Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland, noted that the common stingray was not eaten because of its "rank and disagreeable" flesh, and that Welsh
fishermen used its liver oil
as a treatment for burn
s and other injuries. In the present day, the pectoral fins or "wings" of this species are sold smoked or dried and salted
, and it is also utilized as a source of fishmeal and liver oil. The liver
is regarded as a delicacy in French cuisine
, and used to prepare dishes such as beignets de foie de raie and foie de raie en croute.
Common stingrays are caught incidentally
by commercial fisheries
across many parts of its range, using bottom trawls, gillnet
s, bottom longlines, beach seines, and trammel nets. Because of its inshore habitat preferences, this ray is more susceptible to small-scale coastal fisheries than to industrial operations, such as in the Balearic Islands, where it makes up 40% of the shark and ray trammel net catch. Surveys indicate that common stingrays have declined in the Mediterranean and the northeastern Atlantic, and may have been extirpated from the Bay of Biscay
. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as Near Threatened
in those two regions, while the species as a whole is listed under Data Deficient
. The common stingray is protected within five marine protected area
s (MPAs) in the Balearic Islands, and also benefits from a European Union
ban on the use of trawls within 5.6 km (3.5 mi) of the coast.
Stingray
The stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes, and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae , Plesiobatidae , Urolophidae , Urotrygonidae , Dasyatidae , Potamotrygonidae The...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Dasyatidae, found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
s. It typically inhabits sandy or muddy habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s in coastal waters shallower than 60 m (196.9 ft), often burying itself in sediment. Usually measuring 45 cm (17.7 in) across, the common stingray has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc slightly wider than long, and a whip-like tail with upper and lower fin folds. It can be identified by its plain coloration and mostly smooth skin, except for a row of tubercles along the midline of the back in the largest individuals.
The predominant prey of the common stingray are bottom-dwelling crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, though it also takes molluscs, polychaete worms, and small bony fishes. It is aplacental viviparous: the embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s are nourished by yolk and later histotroph ("uterine milk") produced by the mother. Females bear 4–9 young twice per year in shallow water, after a gestation period
Gestation period
For mammals the gestation period is the time in which a fetus develops, beginning with fertilization and ending at birth. The duration of this period varies between species.-Duration:...
of four months. The common stingray can inflict a painful, though rarely life-threatening, wound with its venom
Venom
Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...
ous tail spine. During classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, its sting was ascribed many mythical properties. This species is not sought after by commercial fisheries
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...
, but is taken in large numbers as bycatch
Bycatch
The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...
and utilized for food, fishmeal, and liver oil
Shark liver oil
Shark liver oil is obtained from sharks that are caught for food purposes and are living in cold, deep oceans. The liver oil from sharks has been used by fishermen for centuries as a folk remedy for general health...
. Its population is apparently dwindling across its range, though there is not yet sufficient data for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to assess it beyond Data Deficient
Data Deficient
Data Deficient is a category applied by the IUCN, other agencies, and individuals to a species when the available information is not sufficient for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made...
.
Taxonomy and phylogeny
Well-documented since classical antiquityClassical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, the common stingray was known as trygon (τρυγών) to the ancient Greeks and as pastinaca to the ancient Romans. An old common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
for this species, used in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
since at least the 18th century, is "fire-flare" or "fiery-flare", which may refer to the reddish color of its meat.
The first formal scientific description of the common stingray, as Raja pastinaca, was authored by the father of taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 tenth edition
10th edition of Systema Naturae
The 10th edition of Systema Naturae was a book written by Carl Linnaeus and published in two volumes in 1758 and 1759, which marks the starting point of zoological nomenclature...
of Systema Naturae
Systema Naturae
The book was one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carolus Linnaeus. The first edition was published in 1735...
. It has since been placed in the genus Dasyatis. There are at least 25 earlier references to this ray in literature, under various non-binomial names such as Raja corpore glabro, aculeo longo anterius serrato in cauda apterygia, Pastinaca marina prima, and Pastinaca marina lævis. Many of these early accounts, including Linnaeus', also incorporated information from other species. Consequently, the designation of a lectotype
Lectotype
In botanical nomenclature and zoological nomenclature, a lectotype is a kind of name-bearing type. When a species was originally described on the basis of a name-bearing type consisting of multiple specimens, one of those may be designated as the lectotype...
is warranted in the interests of taxonomic stability, but this has yet to be enacted.
The blue stingray
Blue stingray
The blue stingray, Dasyatis chrysonota, is a stingray of the family Dasyatidae, found in the southeast Atlantic Ocean around South Africa to Mozambique, from the surface to 100 m...
(Dasyatis chrysonota) of southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
has long been regarded as a variant of the common stingray. However, the common stingray lacks the blue markings of the other species and differs in morphological
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
and meristic characters, which led the latter to be definitively recognized as a separate species by Paul Cowley and Leonard Compagno
Leonard Compagno
Leonard Joseph Victor Compagno is an international authority on shark taxonomy and the author of many scientific papers and books on the subject, best known of which is his 1984 catalogue of shark species produced for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.-Career:*Ph.D,...
in 1993. The distinction between this species and the similar Tortonese's stingray
Tortonese's stingray
The Tortonese's stingray is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It may be the same species as the common stingray ....
(D. tortonesei) of the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
is poorly understood and may not be valid, requiring further investigation.
In 2001, Lisa Rosenberger published a phylogenetic analysis of 14 Dasyatis species, based on morphology. The common stingray was reported to be the most basal member of the genus, other than the bluespotted stingray
Bluespotted stingray
The bluespotted stingray or Kuhl's stingray, is a species of stingray of the Dasyatidae family. It is light green with blue spots. Their disk width hovers around . They are popular in aquaria but usually not distinguished from the Bluespotted ribbontail ray...
(D. kuhlii) and pelagic stingray
Pelagic stingray
The pelagic stingray is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, and the sole member of its genus. It is characterized by the wedge-like shape of its pectoral fin disc, which is much wider than long, as well as by the pointed teeth in both sexes, whip-like tail with extremely long tail...
(D. violacea). However, D. violacea has generally been recognized as belonging to its own genus Pteroplatytrygon, and recently D. kuhlii has also been placed in a different genus, Neotrygon
Neotrygon
The maskrays are a genus, Neotrygon, of stingrays, family Dasyatidae, native to the Indo-West Pacific. They are so named because of a distinctive color pattern around their eyes, resembling a mask. The species in this genus were originally placed in the genus Dasyatis by most authors...
.
Distribution and habitat
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
s. It also occurs, though in significantly lower numbers, in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
from southern Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and the western Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
to Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
and the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. This bottom-dwelling species can be found from the shore to a depth of 200 m (656.2 ft), though it is not usually found deeper than 60 m (196.9 ft). It favors sandy or muddy bottoms in calm water, and is also sometimes encountered near rocky reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
s or in estuaries, as it is tolerant of low salinity
Salinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
. Off the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, common stingrays are most abundant in summer and least abundant in winter, suggestive of a seasonal shift in range and/or depth as has been documented in other ray species.
Description
The common stingray has been reported to reach a width of 1.4 m (4.6 ft) and a length of 2.5 m (8.2 ft), though a width of 45 cm (17.7 in) is more typical. The flattened pectoral fin disc is diamond-shaped and slightly wider than it is long, with narrowly rounded outer corners. The leading margins of the disc are almost straight and converge on a pointed, slightly protruding snout; the trailing margins of the disc are convex. The eyes are smaller than the spiracleSpiracle
Spiracles are openings on the surface of some animals that usually lead to respiratory systems.-Vertebrates:The spiracle is a small hole behind each eye that opens to the mouth in some fishes. In the primitive jawless fish the first gill opening immediately behind the mouth is essentially similar...
s (paired respiratory
Respiration (physiology)
'In physiology, respiration is defined as the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction...
openings), which are placed closely behind. There are 28–38 upper tooth rows and 28–43 lower tooth rows; the teeth are small and blunt, and arranged into flattened surfaces. There are five papillae (nipple-like structures) across the floor of the mouth.
The tail
Tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds...
is slender and whip-like, measuring approximately half as long as the disc. A stinging spine with strong serrations, measuring up to 35 cm (13.8 in) long and equipped with a venom gland at its base, is positioned about a third of the distance along the tail. A second or even third spine may also be present, as the spines are regularly replaced and new spines grow in before existing ones have been shed. The tail behind the spine bears a low cutaneous fold on top and a short, deep fold underneath. The body and tail are smooth, save for a few dermal denticles on the leading edge of the disk; older individuals may also develop a row of bony knobs along the midline of the back. This species is a solid gray, brown, reddish, or olive-green above, and whitish below with dark fin margins. Young rays may have white spots.
Biology and ecology
Encountered singly or in "social" groups, the common stingray appears to segregate by sex to some degree and may be more active at night, tending to bury itself in sediment during daytime. It feeds on a wide variety of bottom-dwelling organismOrganism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
s, including crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, cephalopod
Cephalopod
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda . These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the primitive molluscan foot...
s, bivalves, polychaete worms, and small bony fishes. It is reportedly does great damage to cultured
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
beds. One study in the Gulf of İskenderun
Gulf of Iskenderun
The Gulf of İskenderun is a gulf or inlet of the Levantine Sea, the easternmost part of Mediterranean Sea, of which it forms the easternmost tip, on the southern coast of Turkey near its border with Syria. It also contains the northernmost point of the Levantine Sea...
off Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
found that crustaceans comprised some 99% of its diet, with fish prey becoming increasingly important with age. Another study off the coast of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, Turkey, found the most important dietary component to be the penaeid shrimp
Penaeidae
Penaeidae is a family of prawns, although they are often referred to as penaeid shrimp. It contains many species of economic importance, such as the tiger prawn , whiteleg shrimp, Atlantic white shrimp and Indian prawn. Many prawns are the subject of commercial fishery, and farming, both in marine...
Metapenaeus stebbingi, followed by the pistol shrimp Alpheus glaber and the swimming crab Charybdis longicollis; cephalopods were relatively important for males, while fishes were important for females. Common stingrays have been observed closely following each other in the presence of food, possibly to take advantage of other individuals' foraging success.
Like other stingrays, the common stingray is aplacental viviparous: the embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s are initially sustained by yolk, which is later supplemented by histotroph ("uterine milk", enriched with protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
s, fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
, and mucus
Mucus
In vertebrates, mucus is a slippery secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. Mucous fluid is typically produced from mucous cells found in mucous glands. Mucous cells secrete products that are rich in glycoproteins and water. Mucous fluid may also originate from mixed glands, which...
) delivered by the mother through numerous extensions of the uterine
Uterus
The uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
epithelium
Epithelium
Epithelium is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. Epithelial tissues line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body, and also form many glands. Functions of epithelial cells include secretion, selective...
called trophonemata. Females bear two litters of 4–9 pups per year in shallow inshore waters, following a gestation period
Gestation period
For mammals the gestation period is the time in which a fetus develops, beginning with fertilization and ending at birth. The duration of this period varies between species.-Duration:...
of four months. Various authors have generally reported birthing in summer, between May and September or over a narrower timeframe such as July to August. Mature rays are known to aggregate off the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
from mid-June to July, possibly for reproductive purposes. Newborns measure about 8 cm (3.1 in) across and 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Males reach sexual maturity
Sexual maturity
Sexual maturity is the age or stage when an organism can reproduce. It is sometimes considered synonymous with adulthood, though the two are distinct...
at 22–32 cm (8.7–12.6 in) across, and females at 24–38 cm (9.4–15 in) across. The oldest known individual from the wild was ten years of age, but the species has lived up to 21 years in captivity. Known parasites of the common stingray include the fluke
Trematoda
Trematoda is a class within the phylum Platyhelminthes that contains two groups of parasitic flatworms, commonly referred to as "flukes".-Taxonomy and biodiversity:...
s Heterocotyle pastinacae and Entobdella diadema, and the tapeworm Scalithrium minimum.
Human interactions
Though not aggressive, the common stingray can inflict an excruciating wound with its serrated, venomVenom
Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...
ous tail spine. The ancient Greeks and Romans greatly feared its venom, with authors such as Aelian
Claudius Aelianus
Claudius Aelianus , often seen as just Aelian, born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus and probably outlived Elagabalus, who died in 222...
(175–235 AD) stating that stingray wounds were incurable. The Roman naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(23–79 AD), in his Natural History, asserted that its spine was capable of killing trees, piercing armor like an arrow
Arrow
An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...
, and corroding
Corrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. Greek poet Oppian
Oppian
Oppian or Oppianus was the name of the authors of two didactic poems in Greek hexameters, formerly identified, but now generally regarded as two different persons: Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia; and Oppian of Apamea in Syria.-Oppian of Corycus:Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia, who flourished in the...
(172–210 AD) claimed that the touch of stingray venom could even dissolve stone. In Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
was said to have lost a finger to the bite of a stingray, and Circe
Circe
In Greek mythology, Circe is a minor goddess of magic , described in Homer's Odyssey as "The loveliest of all immortals", living on the island of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus.By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid...
was said to have armed her son Telegonus
Telegonus
Telegonus is the name of three different characters in Greek mythology.-Son of Odysseus:In Greek mythology, Telegonus was the youngest son of Circe and Odysseus....
with a spear tipped with a stingray spine, with which he accidentally slew his father Odysseus
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
.
British zoologist Francis Day
Francis Day
Francis Day CIE was Inspector-General of Fisheries in India and Burma and an ichthyologist.He was born on 2 March 1829 Maresfield, Sussex, UK third son of William and Ann Day. He became the medical officer in the Madras Presidency, East India Company services in 1852.Francis Day was created a...
, in his 1884 The Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland, noted that the common stingray was not eaten because of its "rank and disagreeable" flesh, and that Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
fishermen used its liver oil
Shark liver oil
Shark liver oil is obtained from sharks that are caught for food purposes and are living in cold, deep oceans. The liver oil from sharks has been used by fishermen for centuries as a folk remedy for general health...
as a treatment for burn
Burn
A burn is an injury to flesh caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation, or friction.Burn may also refer to:*Combustion*Burn , type of watercourses so named in Scotland and north-eastern England...
s and other injuries. In the present day, the pectoral fins or "wings" of this species are sold smoked or dried and salted
Salting (food)
Salting is the preservation of food with dry edible salt. It is related to pickling . It is one of the oldest methods of preserving food, and two historically significant salt-cured foods are dried and salted cod and salt-cured meat.Salting is used because most bacteria, fungi and other potentially...
, and it is also utilized as a source of fishmeal and liver oil. The liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
is regarded as a delicacy in French cuisine
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
, and used to prepare dishes such as beignets de foie de raie and foie de raie en croute.
Common stingrays are caught incidentally
Bycatch
The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...
by commercial fisheries
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...
across many parts of its range, using bottom trawls, gillnet
Gillnet
Gillnetting is a common fishing method used by commercial and artisanal fishermen of all the oceans and in some freshwater and estuary areas. The gillnet also is used by fisheries scientists to monitor fish populations. Because gillnets can be so effective their use is closely monitored and...
s, bottom longlines, beach seines, and trammel nets. Because of its inshore habitat preferences, this ray is more susceptible to small-scale coastal fisheries than to industrial operations, such as in the Balearic Islands, where it makes up 40% of the shark and ray trammel net catch. Surveys indicate that common stingrays have declined in the Mediterranean and the northeastern Atlantic, and may have been extirpated from the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as Near Threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
in those two regions, while the species as a whole is listed under Data Deficient
Data Deficient
Data Deficient is a category applied by the IUCN, other agencies, and individuals to a species when the available information is not sufficient for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made...
. The common stingray is protected within five marine protected area
Marine Protected Area
Marine Protected Areas, like any protected area, are regions in which human activity has been placed under some restrictions in the interest of conserving the natural environment, it's surrounding waters and the occupant ecosystems, and any cultural or historical resources that may require...
s (MPAs) in the Balearic Islands, and also benefits from a European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
ban on the use of trawls within 5.6 km (3.5 mi) of the coast.