The great ocean migration of stingrays
Posted by sky | Tags: Animals, Fish, Photos, Science, nature, wildlife
From dailymail.
Taken off the coast of Mexico's Holbox Island by amateur photographer Sandra Critelli, this breathtaking picture captures the migration of thousands of rays as they follow the clockwise current from Mexico's Yucatan peninsula to western Florida.Critelli said: ' It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.'Measuring up to 6ft 6in across, poisonous golden cow-nose rays migrate in groups - or 'fevers' - of up to 10,000 as they glide their way silently towards their summer feeding grounds.
These cow-nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) have distinctive, highdomed heads, giving them a curiously bovine appearance.
But even equipped with this powerful poisonous stinger, cow-nose stingrays are shy and non-threatening in large 'fevers'. Even when isolated, they will attack only when cornered or threatened.
Unlike other stingrays, they rarely rest on the seabed (where unsuspecting humans can step on them) and prefer to be on the move.
They migrate long distances, and can be found as far south as the Caribbean and as far north as New England.
They use their extended pectoral fins to swim, and often turn upside down, curling their fin tips above the surface of the water - leaving terrified swimmers convinced that they have seen a shark. :)
Their flexible fins also come in handy when rustling up food. By flapping them rapidly over the seabed, they stir up sand and reveal crabs, shellfish and oysters, which they then feed on using their powerful, grinding teeth.
Their particular fondness for shellfish has made them public enemy number one with oyster fishermen.
But despite this, their numbers are exploding, thanks in part to rising sea temperatures. They mate every winter, and females produce a litter of five to ten young.
- shared by Swee Fun.
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