You’ve reached a scrolling checkpoint. Come rest in the sediment with us. Stingrays are technically fish, part of a group called Chondrichthyes, which includes sharks, skates, and all other rays. What unites them is a skeleton made entirely of flexible, lightweight cartilage instead of bone. Unlike most fish, stingrays give birth to live young. Their eggs hatch internally, so their babies enter the world fully formed. Their skin is covered in tiny tooth-like scales pointing head to tail, smooth one way and sandpaper the other. They also have special sensory organs on their faces that can detect electrical signals of prey buried in the sand. While all stingrays are rays, not all rays sting. Manta rays, for example, have a tail but no venomous barb. But even with the barb, stingrays almost never use it. When they do, it’s purely self-defence, like getting stepped on or chased. Give them space and treat them with respect, and there’s nothing to fear. Let’s give it up for the ocean’s p...