OMG how cute is that!!!!! I love it!
Yeah, it does look a little alien like, but check out those human like legs down the bottom of it's 'wings' - that's freaky!
I wonder how big that little baby is...any ideas?
cool pic/post..thanks for sharing...i've never seen a baby stingray before...(at first I thought this post had something to do with "Neighbours".....it must be the permeation of Paris Hilton blondeness seeping into my brain after just reading a blog entry about her....arrggghhhhh)
If it's the species I'm fairly sure it is (Yellow Ray) it doesn't get much wider or longer than your computer keyboard.
Ahmed is absolutely right--all rays are harmless and do not attack people--only defend themselves against them, and even then only under duress.
In the case of poor Steve Irwin, I'm guessing that was just bad bad luck; he either stepped on or put his hand down on one that was buried in the sand and it reacted defensively.
As a divemaster, I have had large Southern stingrays sitting on my head, eating out of my hand, enfolding me in their wings many many many times. I've seen the wild ones at Stingray City in Grand Cayman grabbed at, punched and kicked by ignorami who think they're some sort of Disney exhibit instead of living creatures--with no reaction from the rays except to swim away. There is no harm or malice in them.
Sorry for waxing nerdy there, Ahmed--I have a thing for the less popular/cute animals that get a bad rap...
Stingrays are very safe in that they aren't aggresive, you can bully the hell out of 'em but they'll just swim away.
And yet 17 people have died 'cause a Sting Ray decided to bully back.
I don't want to choke on my food - that would be a lame way to go. I know that it's possible, though, and that's why I chew my food.
I'm not saying we should be terrified of Rays - God knows they are as bad as terrorists now that one killed Steve Irwin, but know what you're risks are when you do something.
well thats relative to how much arguing thats going on around me
That and I have what I'd call an unjustified fear of stingrays (much like I am scared of spiders, which is bloody rich given how often I get bit by 'em).
Yoda, Honest now--like I said I swim with and touch them all the time. Like most other animals, they'd rather swim away than attack. When wading in the sand, shuffle your feet so they know you're coming. When snorkeling, keep aware and don't put a hand or foot down on them.
They're really quite docile when they know what's going on==just like most of us! Especially the females, who are quite tolerant (and much larger than the males)
Actually, Daddy Long Legs are quite poisonous, but their fangs can't penetrate human skin - therefore completely harmless to humans.
Ans as for no other spiders - my house is proof that that is wrong. We have a lot of greenery around our house, and spiders are always getting in - all kinds.
There is an urban legend stating that daddy long-legs spiders have the most potent venom of any spider, but that their chelicera (fangs) are either too small or too weak to puncture human skin; the same legend is also repeated of the harvestman and crane fly, also called "daddy longlegs" in some locales. Indeed, pholcid spiders do have a short fang structure (called uncate). However, brown recluse spiders also have uncate fang structure, but are able to deliver medically significant bites. Either pholcid venom is not toxic to humans or there is a musculature difference between the two arachnids, with recluses, being hunting spiders, possessing stronger muscles for fang penetration.
Pholcid venom has never been scientifically tested on mammals. This would normally require milking the spiders and injecting the venom into humans or mice. In any case, there are no known cases of a pholcid spider ever biting a human and causing any serious effects.
In 2004, the Discovery Channel show MythBusters set out to test the daddy long-legs myth (season 1, episode 13 "Buried in Concrete"). After measuring the spider's fangs at approximately ¼ mm (average human skin thickness is about 0.10 mm) the show's host was apparently bitten, although the bite produced little more than a mild short-lived burning sensation. This appears to confirm the suspicion that pholcids can penetrate human skin, but that their venom is practically harmless to humans. Additionally, recent research has shown that pholcid venom is actually relatively weak in its effects on insects as well.
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Yeah, it does look a little alien like, but check out those human like legs down the bottom of it's 'wings' - that's freaky!
I wonder how big that little baby is...any ideas?
cool pic/post..thanks for sharing...i've never seen a baby stingray before...(at first I thought this post had something to do with "Neighbours".....it must be the permeation of Paris Hilton blondeness seeping into my brain after just reading a blog entry about her....arrggghhhhh)
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Just like humans really!
Thanks for a great pic.
katyzzz
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Katyzzz, there have been about 17 recorded deaths as a result from Stingrays in Australia since 1969, they are relatively harmless.
Take a look at this dude to see what I mean.
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if it is not a digitally enhanced photo, then that is one of the cutest things I have ever seen...
Aboslutely gorgeous... certainly sentient...and I bet you could communicate with it too, given time?
Thanks for sharing this pic.
Cheers
Lilla ...
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Definitely an alien, though.
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If it's the species I'm fairly sure it is (Yellow Ray) it doesn't get much wider or longer than your computer keyboard.
Ahmed is absolutely right--all rays are harmless and do not attack people--only defend themselves against them, and even then only under duress.
In the case of poor Steve Irwin, I'm guessing that was just bad bad luck; he either stepped on or put his hand down on one that was buried in the sand and it reacted defensively.
As a divemaster, I have had large Southern stingrays sitting on my head, eating out of my hand, enfolding me in their wings many many many times. I've seen the wild ones at Stingray City in Grand Cayman grabbed at, punched and kicked by ignorami who think they're some sort of Disney exhibit instead of living creatures--with no reaction from the rays except to swim away. There is no harm or malice in them.
Sorry for waxing nerdy there, Ahmed--I have a thing for the less popular/cute animals that get a bad rap...
D.
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My gift to Phillip.
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If it can kill you, you need to be aware of it, however unlikely, no?
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Stingrays are very safe in that they aren't aggresive, you can bully the hell out of 'em but they'll just swim away.
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And yet 17 people have died 'cause a Sting Ray decided to bully back.
I don't want to choke on my food - that would be a lame way to go. I know that it's possible, though, and that's why I chew my food.
I'm not saying we should be terrified of Rays - God knows they are as bad as terrorists now that one killed Steve Irwin, but know what you're risks are when you do something.
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Having said that I have NO intentions of touching a sting ray, ever.
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Well done. You really just are an argumentative little sucker, aren't you?
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That and I have what I'd call an unjustified fear of stingrays (much like I am scared of spiders, which is bloody rich given how often I get bit by 'em).
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They're really quite docile when they know what's going on==just like most of us! Especially the females, who are quite tolerant (and much larger than the males)
D.
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Just trying to make a point to the red box with glasses
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I wouldn't touch that thing if you paid me, and I mean it.
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Mr. Enzo, point taken.
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Mighty Spider... hehe... you wouldn't last 2 days at my house!
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Since where you have daddy long legs you don't have other spiders.
and yes, I probably wouldn't last the night
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Ans as for no other spiders - my house is proof that that is wrong. We have a lot of greenery around our house, and spiders are always getting in - all kinds.
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You really should mow the lawn or something
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Pholcid venom has never been scientifically tested on mammals. This would normally require milking the spiders and injecting the venom into humans or mice. In any case, there are no known cases of a pholcid spider ever biting a human and causing any serious effects.
In 2004, the Discovery Channel show MythBusters set out to test the daddy long-legs myth (season 1, episode 13 "Buried in Concrete"). After measuring the spider's fangs at approximately ¼ mm (average human skin thickness is about 0.10 mm) the show's host was apparently bitten, although the bite produced little more than a mild short-lived burning sensation. This appears to confirm the suspicion that pholcids can penetrate human skin, but that their venom is practically harmless to humans. Additionally, recent research has shown that pholcid venom is actually relatively weak in its effects on insects as well.
From Wikipedia.