Stingray

Stingrays are a group of cartilaginous fish species related to sharks, found in coastal and, less commonly, deep ocean waters worldwide, recognized by their flattened, disc-shaped bodies and long, whip-like tails that in many species carry one or more sharp, barbed spines capable of delivering a painful and sometimes dangerous venomous sting used purely in self-defense rather than for hunting. Most stingrays spend much of their time partially buried in sand or mud on the sea floor, where they use specialized electroreceptors to detect the faint electrical signals of buried prey such as mollusks, crustaceans and small fish, which they crush with flattened plate-like teeth. Stingrays are generally shy and non-aggressive toward humans, delivering their sting only when stepped on or threatened, and a number of species face population pressure from bycatch in fisheries and, for some coastal and river species, habitat degradation.