Dasyatis pastinaca - Stingray

Taxonomy

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Elasmobranchii

Order: Rajiformes

Family: Dasyatidae

Stingrays must always be handled with great care: there are venom sacs connected to one or more spines along the tail, and a wound inflicted by these spines can be extremely painful and may cause temporary paralysis.

The outer edges of the grey, olive or brown disc of this ray are rounded, and it has quite a small snout. There are no dorsal fins. The underside is white.

As with most other rays, this is a bottom feeder; it inhabits relatively shallow water. Fish strips or crustaceans are effective baits. The Welsh rod-caught stingray record was caught off Aberdovey in 1993 and weighed 68lb 4oz (approx. 31kg).