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Atlantic Stingray
Scientific Name: Dasyatis sabina

These curious-looking fish are found in coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. Closely related to sharks, Atlantic stingrays have flattened, disc-shaped bodies and long, whip-like tails. These tails-which are armed with venomous barbs-are used in self-defense as protection against predators.

Atlantic stingrays can grow to be almost two feet across at maturity. They are yellow to brown in color, and they spend the majority of their lives resting on the ocean floor-where they bury themselves into the sand and silt as a form of camouflage.

Fun Facts:
  • Just like their shark cousins, stingrays' skeletons are made of flexible cartilage instead of bone.
  • To propel themselves through the water, stingrays gently flap their pectoral fins up and down-resembling birds in flight.
  • Atlantic stingrays feed by digging "pits" into the sand with their pectoral fins. These movements unearth worms, crustaceans, mollusks, sea stars and other prey.
  • Although stingrays prefer salty, coastal waters, they have also been known to enter river systems in search of food or for reproduction.
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