The name Stingray refers to several species of the family dasyatidae, recognizable by a tail shaped like a whip. The American stingray (dasyatis americana) is one of these species and is found on the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean, from New Jersey to the south of Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies. Very common in the Caribbean, it is less present in the Bahamas and Florida.

     Although having a longer tail length and an almost uniformly gray color and not yellow, this species is very close to the yellow stingray which I already presented to you on this site, here for the Bahamas and there for eastern Florida. We know that all species of dasyatidae (except one) have one or more poisonous stings on the tail, erect upward, used for defense against predators. This thorn is furnished with points directed towards its base, like a harpoon. The stingray has only one. Its venom is very dangerous, even fatal, including for humans. Contact, in general, occurs when a swimmer or diver accidentally walks over a stingray seated on the bottom. The injury is very painful and variable side effects quickly appear: cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea ... A first fatal case occurred in 2006: that of Steve Irwin, an Australian owner of a zoo and famous presenter of documentaries about animals broadcast on television, touched in the chest during a dive. For more details on a second recent fatal accident (end of 2018) and on how to deal with this kind of accident, see the 2 links here and there .