Southern stingray

Dasyatis americana

Species Information
Exhibit Name and Location Wings in the Water – Main Aquarium, Level 1
Description of Animal Southern stingrays have a highly flattened, disc-shaped body with no distinct head. Docile creatures, they are equipped with long, whip-like tails with one or more razor-sharp, serrated barbs, which they use only for defense. The eyes and gill slits, or spiracles, are on the top of the body, which is gray to dark brown. The mouth is on the whitish underside. Southern stingrays have a gestation period of about six months. The eggs hatch within the mother’s body, and the pups, up to ten in a litter, average 9½ inches (25 cm) across at birth.
Aquarist's Note Visitors have often witnessed the birth of southern stingrays in the exhibit. Births generate a lot of excitement, for the public and for our staff. Our divers quickly catch the newborns and move them to another area behind the scenes so they don’t end up as food for the larger roughtail and butterfly rays. Incidentally, before their live birth, stingrays’ “wings” are curled up – just like crepes.
Diet Crabs, clams, shrimp, marine worms, and small fish make up the diet of southern stingrays.
Size Female southern stingrays, with a maximum disc width of 6½ feet (2.0 m), are larger than their male counterparts. The maximum recorded weight of this species is 300 pounds (135.6 kg).
Range Southern stingrays can be found on sandy bottoms, over seagrass beds, in lagoons, and on the reef face from New Jersey to southern Brazil, throughout the Caribbean, and in the northern Gulf of Mexico. They can be observed singly, in pairs, and in aggregations.
Population Status Southern stingrays are plentiful and most abundant off the coast of Florida and in the Bahamas. They have been artificially concentrated in some areas with regular feedings by resort owners and divers to the point where they have become a major part of the local tourism industry.
Predators Southern stingrays have few natural predators other than the occasional large shark, such as lemon sharks and hammerheads, and are not targeted by commercial fisheries.