Posted on 11/10/2009 4:44:12 PM PST by JoeProBono
Caught on film
It is one of the rarest giants of the ocean, and it has been caught on film for the first time.
An underwater camera crew filming for the BBC has recorded a smalleye stingray swimming off the coast of Mozambique.
The smalleye stingray is the largest of all 70 species of stingray, attaining widths of more than 2m.
The elusive creature, first discovered in 1908, has only ever been seen alive off Tofo in southern Mozambique.
Rare sight
Stingrays are cartilaginous fish that are related to sharks.
They occur is marine, freshwater and estuarine habitats and vary in size from the dwarf whipray (Himantura walga), which measures just 24cm wide, to the smooth or short-tail stingray (Dasyatis brevicaudata) which can grow over 2m wide.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
It swims like a huge bird flying through the air. I never thought of stingrays as beautiful before but I now find that they are.
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