Chordata · chordates

Southern stingray

Hypanus americanus

Dasyatidae · whiptail stingraysIUCN: Near Threatened
Southern stingray
Photo: D Ross Robertson · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A sand-colored stingray famous at Stingray City in the Cayman Islands.

Fun factIts barbed tail spine is replaced if it breaks off.

Waters
Northwest Atlantic, Tropical Atlantic & Caribbean
Depth zone
Coastal shallows & estuaries, Coral reefs
Diet
Crabs, worms & small fish
Size
Wingspan up to 1.5 m

Classification

Chordata › Chondrichthyes › Myliobatiformes › Dasyatidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Deuterostomia deuterostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening becomes the anus and the mouth forms second
    • Includes echinoderms and chordates
  4. Phylum Chordata chordates
    • At some stage of life: a stiffening rod along the back (notochord)
    • A hollow nerve cord along the back (dorsal)
    • Slits in the throat (pharyngeal slits) and a tail past the anus
  5. Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
    • A skull (cranium) protecting a brain
    • Backbone or similar support around the nerve cord
    • Includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
  6. Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
    • Jawed vertebrates: jaws formed from gill arches
    • Paired fins or limbs
    • Includes all fishes except hagfish and lampreys, plus all tetrapods
  7. Class Chondrichthyes cartilaginous fishes
    • Skeleton made of cartilage, not bone
    • Skin covered in tooth-like scales (denticles)
    • Teeth constantly replaced; males have claspers for mating
  8. Subclass Elasmobranchii sharks & rays
    • Sharks and rays: five to seven separate gill slits on each side
    • Many rows of replaceable teeth
  9. Superorder Batoidea rays & skates
    • Rays and skates: flattened bodies with gill slits underneath
    • Pectoral fins joined to the head
    • Many have crushing, pavement-like teeth
  10. Order Myliobatiformes stingrays & eagle rays
    • Stingrays and eagle rays: most have a venomous tail spine
    • Give birth to live young
  11. Family Dasyatidae whiptail stingrays
    • Whiptail stingrays: long, whip-like tail with a barbed spine
  12. Genus Hypanus
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  13. Species Hypanus americanus Southern stingray

Closest relatives in the guide