The southern stingray lives in the western Atlantic ocean from New Jersey down to Brazil. The stingray is abundant where warm water can be found like Florida and the Bahamas. As a bottom dweller you can find this stingray on sand or even in seagrass meadows. Large reef structures are not appealing to this stingray because feeding is difficult in those areas. Dasyatis americana is the scientific name of the southern stingray. It is part of the Dasyatidae family of stingrays. These stingrays are all whiptail stingrays. This family of stingrays encompasses more than seventy different types of rays. You can find these rays in temperate to tropical waters, some have even wandered into freshwater in certain areas. You can distinguish these stingrays …show more content…
To avoid the few predators the southern stingray does have it buries and covers itself under the sand. In addition to hiding themselves in the sand the southern stingray is equipped with a barb that contains venom. The barb is at the end of their tail and they use their tail to stab the barb into their predators. This venom produces intense pain and even paralysis in humans but the sharks who feed on stingrays seem to have become immune to the sting. Another defense mechanism the stingray uses is their back. This stingray has short spines on its back and if stepped on these spines can pierce its predators. The southern stingray has a commensal relationship with common coastal birds. As the stingray looks for food by flapping its fins and blowing water out through its mouth it stirs up the sand at the bottom of the ocean. The stirring up of this sand then creates the fish to become disoriented. As this happens the birds are able to dive down and feed on the fish that the stingray helped disorient. The birds often follow close behind the stingrays during feeding time in hopes of catching a few fish. Although this is a great way for the birds to get a meal it is only possible in shallow water off the