Nutrition-
 Stingray 'Sand'wich

Southern Stingray Mouth Photo by Jeff Kraus   Southern Stingrays use their strong senses to find their food in the sand. These senses include: smell, touch, and electrosenses. This species usually feeds during the night on crustaceans (such as White Shrimp), bivalves, worms and small bottom-dwelling fishes. To expose their prey, they flap their pelvic fins in the sand leaving shallow craters. Then they are able to suck up the organism into their mouths with their jaws. Once they have their prey in their mouths, they crush the shells with their multiple rows of teeth to get to the meat. After they have gotten the meat, they spit the shell out.

     Since stingrays glide and lie on the seafloor, they are able to conserve energy. Stingrays also digest their food slowly. Sharks and fish have elongated intestines giving them more time to absorb nutrients. Their stomachs have rugae which are invaginations that increase its surface area. They also have a spiral valve that has ridges in a zig-zag pattern to increase surface area and nutrient uptake. These adaptations allow them to survive for long periods of time without eating. This gives the stingray more time to stay hidden from predators under the sand on the sea floor.

It's a nice day for a 'wet' wedding!
It's a nice day to read about Reproduction

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