A Southern Stingray hides in the sand. It buries itself in the sand to hide from predators, leaving only its eyes showing.
Southern Stingrays swim gracefully, like flying carpets gliding over the sand.

A Southern Stingray hides in the sand at Bud's Cave near the island of Abaco in the Bahamas. Stingrays are a type of fish, closely related to sharks. Like sharks, stingrays have fleshy fins. The stingray's wings are actually pectoral fins. When at rest, the stingray may hide in the sand. If attacked by a predator, the stingray will defend itself with a venomous stinger at the base of its tail. Stingrays are not dangerous, but are hard to see when hiding and can cause painful injuries when accidentally stepped on by someone wading in the ocean.

This Southern Stingray was approximately 4 feet long, including its tail. Its was approximately 2 feet wide. It swam away and glided to a new resting place when we approached. Southern Stingrays are common throughout the Caribbean, and may be seen as far north as New Jersey and as far south as Brazil.