Common StingRay Fish
Slightly more rounded in outline than skates and true rays , the common eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stingray lives mostly in shallow water. One or sometimes two saw-toothed poisonous barbs, up to 35cm (14in) long, project from the top of its tail. If disturbed — perhaps by a diver or fisherman, or even by a bather stepping on the half-buried fish — it will lash with its tail and may stab or cut its victim seriously. Poison entering the wound from a gland at the base of the barb causes intense pain, but deaths are rare. However, a few people die worldwide each year from stingray stings, usually to the upper part of their body.
Scientific name : Dasyatis (or Trygon) pastinaca
Classification : Order Myliobatiformes (great rays); sometimes included in Rajiformes
Family : Dasyatidae
Size : Up to about 60cm (24in) wide; to about 1.5m (5ft) long
Distribution : Eastern Atlantic; Mediterranean
Habitat : Temperate coastal waters and estuaries, to 200m (650ft) deep
Diet : Bottom-living fish; crustaceans; molluscs
Reproduction : Ovoviviparous; four to seven young, born after 4-month gestation