The southern stingray is a large, diamond-shaped ray of the western Atlantic and Caribbean. It is commonly seen by snorkellers and divers, gliding over sandy seafloors.
Interesting facts
- Stingrays bury themselves in sand, leaving only their eyes and breathing holes showing.
- A serrated, venomous barb on the tail is used only in defence.
- They find buried prey with electrical sensors on their undersides.
- Females are much larger than males.
- Stingrays are related to sharks and have skeletons made of cartilage.
- Doing the ‘stingray shuffle’ when wading warns rays of your approach.
Behaviour
Southern stingrays spend much of the day buried in sand and feed by blowing water into the sand to uncover prey. They are usually solitary.
Breeding and young
Females give birth to live young, usually 2–10 pups, after a gestation of about 4–5 months.
Threats and conservation
Accidental capture in fisheries, habitat loss and heavy tourism pressure at some sites.
Where to see it
- Stingray City, Grand Cayman
- Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley, Belize
- The Bahamas
- Caribbean coasts and seagrass flats
Status source: IUCN Red List. Profile last reviewed September 2026.
