Common Stingray

There are many different species of stingray around the world with the vast majority living in tropical and subtropical seas, with a few species living in freshwater. Many people are surprised to hear that such an exotic species can be found around the UK, but the common stingray can indeed be found in British waters. Although many books and websites say they are found throughout UK waters the vast majority seem to be reported around the south of England and Ireland.

Stingray live in relatively shallow water up to around fifty or sixty metres deep. They prefer sandy, muddy or light shingle seabeds, although they will be found around rocky or reef outcrops if they are surrounded by clean ground. The range of the common stingray extends from the edges of the Baltic Sea, throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea and along the northern coast of Africa. The common stingray can be solitary or found in small groups. Young stingray are unfussy feeders which will eat all manner of small, bottom-dwelling sea creatures such as crabs, marine worms, shellfish and small lobsters. They will rummage around in the sediment of the seabed to dig out creatures to eat and will also scavenge on any dead and rotting fish they find. As the stingray gets older and larger it becomes more of a hunter, preying on both small flatfish and roundfish and moving away from eating crustaceans and invertebrates.

Stingrays are most famous for the serrated, venomous stinger which is concealed in their tail. This can be up to fifteen inches long in the largest stingrays. The stinger is made out of a cartilaginous material called vasodentin. Two grooves on the underside of the stinger hold cells which contain a protein-based venom. Once the point of the stinger pierces flesh the cells are torn open and release the venom inside of the victim. The stinger is not attached to the body of the stingray particularly firmly, and it will often snap off in an attack. However, stingrays can re-grow a new stinger and will sometimes naturally shed their stinger as a new one grows in. Stingrays held in captivity have their stingers removed for safety reasons but the staff of the aquariums will have to cut back the stinger every so often as it re-grows. Generally, stingray are relatively timid creatures which swim away from predators such as sharks and only use their stinger as a defensive measure if they are surprised or trapped.

When human skin is pierced by a stingray’s stinger obvious pain is caused by the physical damage to the skin. The venom then causes the wound to become inflamed and it can go on to cause symptoms such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, and diarrhea. Further problems can be caused when fragments of the stinger, or even the whole stinger itself, can snap off inside of the victim and require medical attention to be removed. Wounds caused by a stingray also bleed for a long time, although there is no scientific evidence of an anti-haemoglobin agent being contained within the venom. The pain is at its most intense for the first hour after the attack but can persist for several days. The venom of a stingray is similar to that of a weever fish in that it is protein-based, and is destroyed by heat. Affected body parts are therefore placed into hot water to ease the pain and minimise the impact of the venom.

Because stingrays only use their stinger as a defensive measure the vast majority of attacks are caused by divers provoking stingrays or surprising or starling a stingray by approaching it from behind. Bathers can also be ‘attacked’ by stingrays if they accidentally step on one which has buried itself into sand. Once disturbed in this way the stingray will lash out with its stinger as it swims away, often piercing the leg or foot of the person who stepped on it. Stingrays are most likely to cause a fatal injury if the stinger hits the face or chest of a person, with wounds to the legs or feet being less serious. However, anyone affected by a stingray attack should seek the advice of a medical professional, as there can be lasting after-effects such as reactions to the venom or fragments of the stinger remaining inside the wound. No one knows for sure how many people have been killed by stingrays over the years. Some put the total at seventeen, whereas other reports put it as high as thirty-five confirmed deaths.

The highest profile person to be killed by a stingray was the Australian wildlife expert and TV presenter Steve Irwin. In September 2006 he was filming a documentary about dangerous sea creatures off Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. According to reports his team were trying to capture footage of a large stingray swimming away from Irwin when the stingray reacted as if a predator was approaching and lashed out with its stinger, piercing Irwin’s chest multiple times and causing a serious injury to his heart which resulted in his death.

Stingrays in Ancient History

The supposed destructive power of the stingray has led to many stories and myths over the centuries. There have also been many over-exaggerated stories about the destructive power of stingrays. The Roman natural historian and philosopher Pliny the Elder (23 – 79 AD) believed the stingray lay in wait on the seabed and pierced fish as they swam past. He also thought that the stinger of a stingray could pierce armour and would cause a tree to die if it was stabbed into the trunk or branches, while Roman author Claudius Aelianus (175 – 235 AD) believed that the human body was not capable of recovering from a wound caused by a stingray. Stingrays also play an important role in Greek mythology as Hercules had a finger bitten off by a stingray. Ulysses also ran into stingray-related problems. He was warned in a dream to beware of his own son and was eventually killed when his son accidentally stabbed him with a spear tipped with the stinger from a stingray.