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Round Sting Ray
(Urolophus halleri)
Courtesy
of Tom Haight
This
is the culprit responsible for so many stings during the spring
and summer months in Southern California. Growing to a length
of 22 inches, stingrays often bury themselves in the soft
mud or sandy bottoms. They feed by digging up the bottom with
their "wings" looking for prey. Round stingrays can be found
from Northern California to Panama. These fish are not aggressive
and will swim away if given half a chance. One problem with
being a stingray is that many surf fishermen kill the animal
rather than taking a chance on being stung while removing
the hook. This practice results in many unnecessary stingray
deaths. Soaking a sting in hot water will help alleviate the
pain of the victim.
Following
is a short video clip of a round stingray in its native habitat,
courtesy of Tom Haight Marine Wildlife Photography.
If the video clip does not automatically display, you may
be prompted to download a plug-in that will enable you to
view the video file.
(3.9MB .avi file)
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