Giant stingrays lay premature for fear of humans

The giant stingrays lay eight spawns on board due to pressure when captured by the research team in a survey near Izmir, Turkey.

The common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca) weighs 450kg, captured by Dr. Lker Aydin and students of Ege University, near Izmir province in the west of Turkey, reported yesterday by Earth Touch News. The research team set up a net to catch rays at a depth of 100m in a survey of fish species in deep water in the area.

The 450kg stingray is caught near Izmir, Turkey.(Photo: Ajans Haber).

If confirmed, this 2.21m-wide stingray will win the world's largest title in the subspecies due to being nearly a meter longer than the previous record. After putting it on the research vessel, Aydin's group used a long tube to pump oxygenated water into the animal's gills while conducting many measurements and observations.

As she prepared to return the stingray to the sea, Aydin lifted its tail to determine the gender and realized the abnormality. The stingray is about to give birth."It was a big surprise for us , " Aydin said. 8 stingrays were born on the ship without the yolk sac, indicating they were ready to be born.

Stingrays and sharks are very sensitive to pressure and females of these species often give birth after being caught. "I think the assumption is very reasonable that if children are close to the time of their birth, children can choose to give birth to give their young children a chance to escape," said Thomas Farrugia, a graduate student at Alaska University. in Fairbanks, USA, said.

The stingrays are born right on the ship.(Photo: Ajans Haber).

According to Farrugia, another reason that can stimulate rays to give birth early is to change from the underwater environment to the land . "Under the water, children are supported by a natural floating state, but when they are loaded onto the ship, all of its weight is put on the underside, resulting in the young being pushed out , " Farrugia explained.

Aydin said he and the students had released their mother and eight young stingrays into the sea right after the measurement was completed. According to Farrugia, if you are released into the water quickly and don't have too much grip, the stingrays still have a very high chance of survival.