Selachians Extraordinary 269 



de Latil, a French naturalist, tells of two incidents that attest to the 

 potency of the Sting ray's venom. One victim, "slightly scratched" on 

 the thumb, suffered intense pain, high fever and, for three months, 

 slight paralysis of the arm. Another, scratched on the arm, was in pain 

 for two days. 



The sting is purely a defensive weapon and is not used to stun prey, 

 despite Pliny's claim that the Sting ray "lies lurking in ambush and 

 pierces the fish as they pass." The Sting ray feeds principally on worms, 

 clams, and crustaceans— indeed, it often feeds so well that it eradicates 

 oyster or clam beds. 



The best first aid for a Sting ray wound is to let it bleed for a few 

 moments to flush out as much poison and sand as possible. Then wash 

 the wound thoroughly, apply a mild antiseptic, and get to a doctor. 

 Some old-time fishermen suggest applying very hot water as an imme- 

 diate remedy for the pain. In a Florida case, Benadryl hydrochloride, 

 penicillin, and an antitetanus drug were all administered by hypodermic 

 30 minutes after a man was struck on the left palm by a Sting ray. 

 But the treatment had no apparent effect. The victim reported "soreness" 

 about the wound for more than a month. 



Sting rays have been seen in the open seas of the world's warm waters, 

 and are plentiful in coastal shallows. Along some tropical shores, their 

 abundance is graphically described by Bigelow and Schroeder as "in such 

 great plenty that it may seem as though the bottom were almost paved 

 with them." 



They come in three shapes— round, kite, and diamond— but the tails 

 of all species are usually, although not always, long and whip-like. The 

 sting— or stings— are on the upper side of the tail, usually about one 

 third the distance from its base. 



Sting rays vary considerably in size. A small Atlantic species (Dasy- 

 atis sabina Lesueur, 1824) matures at about 10 inches and apparently 

 grows to only 20 inches or so in width. One of the largest is the Captain 

 Cook's Stingaree of New Zealand and Australian waters (Dasyatis brevi- 

 caiidata Hutton, 1875). It is named after Captain James Cook, who saw 

 so many Sting rays while exploring Australia in 1770 that he named one 

 of the bays, a few miles south of what was to become Sydney, Stingray 

 Bay (later changed to Botanists', and finally Botany, Bay). 



Captain Cook's Stingaree, said to reach 14 feet in length and 6 to 7 

 feet in width, is often described as the biggest Sting ray in the world. 

 But a rival for this title exists in Atlantic waters— a Sting ray (Dasyatis 

 centroura Mitchell, 1815) which is known to reach 5 feet in width and 

 10 feet, 3 inches in length. A D. centroura caught in New Jersey was 

 described by the highly reputable H. W. Fowler as nearly 7 feet across 

 and, had its tail been complete, it would have been 13 to 14 feet long. 



