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Please contact the Marketing Department on 01752 275238 who will be able to refer you directly to the correct person.
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Stingrays in Plymouth
Four young stingrays have just arrived at the National Marine Aquarium just in time for the summer season. The Common Stingray is found in the East Atlantic from Scotland to South Africa and the Mediterranean; In Britain it is most likely to be found on the south and eastern coasts but has been spotted in the south west. Now perfectly at home in the Aquarium’s Shallow Waters exhibit, it’s possible that they may be living in local waters.
Douglas Herdson, Information Officer at the Aquarium said:
“Reports of sightings in the South West are few and far between but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be found in our waters. Although they do prefer warmer waters they are fairly common in the South East and even up the North Sea to Yorkshire; much more so in the Summer and in Autumn.”
These beautiful creatures have been given some bad press in recent times, not least following the death of ‘Crocodile Hunter’, Steve Irwin, who died after being pierced through the heart by a stingray’s barb, however, they are docile animals and generally inoffensive but can whip their tail around and stab with the barb on the tail if they threatened. The venom of a common stingray is not thought to be toxic to humans but will cause severe pain.
Aquarium Curator Steve Matchett was quick to defend his new arrivals, saying:
“Their ‘sting’ is a form of defence, they usually hide in the sand to disguise themselves and swim away if they feel under threat. They only sting as a last resort; they are not dangerous if treated with respect.”
Stingrays differ from our more common rays in lacking any fins on the tail and having spines on the tail, they live on sandy bottoms where they use their crushing teeth to feed on the buried creatures.
Steve continued:
“These are just babies, not much bigger than a CD but can grow to roughly the size of a dustbin lid at full maturity. When they are a bit bigger they will be moved to the Atlantic Reef exhibit.”
Though often thought to be closely related to flatfish such as Plaice or Sole, which are bony fish, Rays actually belong to the same family as Sharks and Skate which are cartilaginous fish. This means their skeletons are made up of cartilage not bone; they are often described as ‘flattened sharks’.
The stingrays which were bred in captivity in the UK have been at the Aquarium undergoing routine quarantine for the last four weeks and were introduced to the Shallow’s exhibit yesterday. They have settled very well in their new home and are already a crowd pleaser.
Douglas Herdson, Information Officer at the Aquarium said:
“Reports of sightings in the South West are few and far between but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be found in our waters. Although they do prefer warmer waters they are fairly common in the South East and even up the North Sea to Yorkshire; much more so in the Summer and in Autumn.”
These beautiful creatures have been given some bad press in recent times, not least following the death of ‘Crocodile Hunter’, Steve Irwin, who died after being pierced through the heart by a stingray’s barb, however, they are docile animals and generally inoffensive but can whip their tail around and stab with the barb on the tail if they threatened. The venom of a common stingray is not thought to be toxic to humans but will cause severe pain.
Aquarium Curator Steve Matchett was quick to defend his new arrivals, saying:
“Their ‘sting’ is a form of defence, they usually hide in the sand to disguise themselves and swim away if they feel under threat. They only sting as a last resort; they are not dangerous if treated with respect.”
Stingrays differ from our more common rays in lacking any fins on the tail and having spines on the tail, they live on sandy bottoms where they use their crushing teeth to feed on the buried creatures.
Steve continued:
“These are just babies, not much bigger than a CD but can grow to roughly the size of a dustbin lid at full maturity. When they are a bit bigger they will be moved to the Atlantic Reef exhibit.”
Though often thought to be closely related to flatfish such as Plaice or Sole, which are bony fish, Rays actually belong to the same family as Sharks and Skate which are cartilaginous fish. This means their skeletons are made up of cartilage not bone; they are often described as ‘flattened sharks’.
The stingrays which were bred in captivity in the UK have been at the Aquarium undergoing routine quarantine for the last four weeks and were introduced to the Shallow’s exhibit yesterday. They have settled very well in their new home and are already a crowd pleaser.
