That estimated 50-80% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface and the oceans contain 99% of living space on the planet. Less than 10% of that space has been explored by humans. Scuba Diving opens up this world full of creatures, fish and marine life.

Marine life is indeed very intriguing and may look like alien beings to us.   Many marine creatures are ancient and have been on this earth for millions of years.    Let us catch a glimpse one of the  fascinating marine creatures, the string-ray, which are mesmerizing and can be dangerous.

From my first dive I get fascinated with Stingrays as they gently glide a few inches above the sand, stingrays appear elegant, peaceful and clam.

Stingrays are some of the most unusual animals in the ocean.  They spend the majority of their time inactive, partially buried in sand, often moving only with the sway of the tide. The stingray’s coloration commonly reflects the seafloor’s shading, camouflaging it from predatory sharks and larger rays. We can  found stingrays  in shallow coastal waters of the temperate, tropical and subtropical regions as well as in coral reefs.   Stingrays have a flattened body and a tail region where the stingers are found.  Just like sharks, they have electro-receptors known as the ampullae of Lorenzini with which they detect prey.   They eat mollusks and crustaceans like clams, oysters, etc, and sometimes small fish.  They normally do not attack humans but will do so in self-defence.  Death of human beings from the stinging of stingrays is very rare.  Unfortunately, the famous wildlife enthusiast Steve Irwin died from a fatal sting of a stingray.

here are some facts about stingrays that you may not know

– stingray in the wild can live to be 15 to 25 years old

– they can grow up to 6,5 feet long and weight as much as 790 pounds!!

– they are more than 60 species of stingrays worldwide

– sometimes, stingrays are called whip-tail rays

– stingrays do not use their eyes for hunting prey. Instead, they use special sensors that are located on their undersides, which help to detect tiny electrical charges that are emitted by their prey.

– when a pup (a baby stingray) is born it is almost fully developed; when it comes out of the mother’s womb it looks like a mini-adult stingray.

– Pups can feed themselves from birth.

– The average life span of a stingray is 15-25 years old.

– Ancient Greek dentists used the venom from the stingray’s spine as an  anaesthetic when they worked on their patients.

– Rays have been known to store sperm and not give birth until they decide the timing is right