Common Stingray Dasyatis pastinaca information and pictures. Aka Raya Pastinaca.

Not just Shark Pictures: Elasmodiver contains photos of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaera's from around the world. It began as a simple web based field guide to help divers find the best places to encounter different species of sharks and rays but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project containing information on all aspects of shark diving and photography. There are now more than a thousand shark pictures and sections on shark evolution, biology, and conservation. There is a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly outdated shark taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters. Elasmodiver is now so difficult to check for updates, that new information and pictures are listed on an Elasmodiver Updates Page that can be accessed here:

WHAT'S NEW?

Shark picture - green sawfish

ELASMODIVER EXPANDED

If you're looking for a broader range of marine life pictures the following links represent a new area that contains pictures on other marine organisms and on marine habitats. This expansion of Elasmodiver is in its first stages but will eventually include pages on everything from sea stars to nudibranches. Creating this portal will take time and for now it consists of a token offering of fish pictures. Please return regularly to enjoy the progress.

FISH PICTURES

Behavior: Rests on sand or under rocky ledges. Forages for crustaceans, gastropods, molluscs, and small benthic fishes.

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous. litter from 4 to 7. Gestation around 4 months.

Observations: During a "ray feed" these rays followed each other around closely on the sand. This may be opportunistic feeding i.e. waiting for the first ray to sniff out the food, or a mating display, or behaviour related to some other function. See image below:

Photographs: Los Gigantes, Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Similar species: The Common Stingray shares its range with a variety of other rays including Dasyatis tortonesei which has a more pointed snout and a dorsal keel instead of a finfold. Two simpatric stingrays grow much larger: the Black or Round Stingray is darker and has scattered spots and a more rounded disc, and the Roughtail Stingray which has obvious tubercles along its tail.

Reaction to divers: Moves away upon close approach. Usually skittish but has become tolerant of humans in feeding situations.

Diving logistics: Los Gigantes on Tenerife is the place to encounter this species. Los Gigantes Dive Centre runs feeds twice weekly that attract up to six species of rays. Common Stingrays are the most abundant species in attendance. This feed is well worth joining.

Other diving locations submitted by readers:

References and further reading:

Reef Sharks and Rays of the World. Scott W. Michael. Sea Challengers.

Sharks and Rays. Elasmobranch Guide of the World. Ralf M. Hennemann.