Biology and Ecology of Venomous Stingrays

Ramasamy Santhanam

• Publisher: Apple Academic Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781771885386
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351800259
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Veterinary Medicine

This comprehensive book provides first-hand information on the diversity, biology, and ecology of venomous stingrays of freshwater, brackish, and marine ecosystems. Each year thousands of injuries to swimmers and surfers are reported, with 750 to 1,500 stingray injuries reported each year in the US alone. As more vacationers spend their leisure time exploring coasts and tropical reefs, often in isolated areas without immediate access to advanced health care, there will be greater potential for stingray injuries. A thorough understanding about the diversity of stingrays of marine and freshwater ecosystems and their injuries and envenomations would largely improve the public health community's ability to better manage and to prevent stingray injuries. This volume fills that gap.

With over 200 photos and illustrations, this book shows the characteristics of venomous stingray families along with other profile information, such as common name, geographical distribution, diagnostic features, reproduction, predators, parasites, the International Union for Conservation of Nature's conservation status. Importantly, it includes valuable information on stingray injuries, envenomation, and medical management.

This volume will be very informative for students of fisheries science, marine biology, aquatic biology, and environmental sciences, and will become a standard reference for marine professionals, health practitioners, and college and university libraries, and as a helpful on-board

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

Abstract

1.1 Biodiversity and Distribution of World Stingrays

1.2 Food Uses of Stingrays

1.3 Other Uses of Stingrays

1.4 Ecotourism

Keywords

ABSTRACT

Stingrays (phylum: Chordata; subphylum: Vertebrata; class: Chondrichthyes; subclass: Elasmobranchii; order: Myliobatiformes) are members of the “cartilaginous fishes,” which are characterized by cartilaginous skeletons. They have jaws, paired fins and nostrils, scales, and two-chambered hearts. The habitat and distribution of marine and freshwater stingrays along with their use to humans in terms of food, various products, and ecotourism are given in this chapter.

1.1 BIODIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF WORLD STINGRAYS

A total of 218 species of stingrays have so far been described including 177 species of marine stingrays with 19 genera and 41 species of freshwater stingrays with 7 genera. While marine stingrays have been found widely distributed throughout the coastal tropical and subtropical seas of the world, freshwater stingrays (family: Potamotrygonidae) inhabit the brackish waters, lagoons, and freshwater tributaries of some of the major tropical river systems of South America and Africa. Most myliobatoid rays are demersal and the eagle rays are pelagic (Michael, 2005). The dasyatid stingrays, on the other hand, are bottom-feeders in shallow brackish waters and near reefs.

Biodiversity and Distribution of World Stingrays

Family/genera	No. of species	Distribution
Dasyatidae (whiptail stingrays)
Dasyatis	43^a	Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans
Himantura	28^b
Makararaja	1^c
Neotrygon	5
Pteroplatytrygon	1
Pastinachus	5
Taeniura	3
Taeniurops	1
Urogymnus	1
Potamotrygonidae (freshwater stingrays)
Heliotrygon	2^c	Atlantic and Caribbean watersheds of South America and rivers in West Africa
Paratrygon	1^c
Plesiotrygon	2^c
Potamotrygon	24^c
Gymnuridae (butterfly rays)
Gymnura	14	Worldwide in tropical and warm temperate (subtropical) seas; Atlantic (Black Sea), Pacific, and Indian oceans
Myliobatidae (eagle rays/manta rays)
Aetobatus	3	Tropical and western temperate seas
Aetomylaeus	4	worldwide; Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans
Myliobatis	12
Manta	2
Mobula	9
Pteromylaeus	2
Rhinopteridae (cownose rays)
Rhinoptera	8	Circumglobal distribution (temperate and tropical continental seas)
Urolophidae (stingarees or round stingrays)
Trygonoptera	6	Eastern Indian, western Pacific, eastern Pacific (from California to Chile), and western Atlantic ocean
Urolophus	22
Urobatis	6
Urotrygon	13
Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingrays)
Hexatrygon	1	Off South Africa
Plesiobatidae (deepwater stingray)
Plesiobatis	1	South Africa; Mozambique, Australia and Western Indian ocean; west-central Pacific ocean (from Japan to Philippines) and Hawaiian Islands

^aFour species of Dasyatis and ^bseven species of Himantura are in freshwater habitats; ^cexclusively freshwater species.

Source: Schneider (1990).

1.2 FOOD USES OF STINGRAYS

Stingrays are of use to humans in terms of food, various products, and ecotourism. Proximate composition of several species of marine ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• Preface
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Biology and Ecology of Marine Stingrays
• 3. Profile of Marine Stingrays
• 4. Biology and Ecology of Freshwater Stingrays
• 5. Profile of Freshwater Stingrays
• 6. Stingray Injuries, Envenomation, and Medical Management
• References
• Index