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06/05/2008


School of Stingrays

Cownose

Here's the coolest photo I've seen all day.

Shot in Key West, apparently.

These are likely cow-nose rays, which often swim in large groups close to the surface.

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Posted 7:16 PM EST by Andy in Key West, Nature, News | Permalink

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Comments

  1. Incredible!

    Posted by: JP | Jun 5, 2008 7:25:09 PM


  2. Wow! That's cool!

    Posted by: MikeInSanJose | Jun 5, 2008 7:42:54 PM


  3. WOW!! and WOW!!!....just fucking amazing.....the keys are so beautiful

    thanks for that incredible picture

    Tony

    ....and look MA no SPECIAL EFFECTS JUST MOM NATURE doing her thing!

    Posted by: tc | Jun 5, 2008 8:08:23 PM


  4. My partner and I were just in Key West two weeks ago and say hundreds of rays while snorkling. It was pretty amazing, as were the tarpon--nothing freaks you out like swimming with creatures that are two or three times your size.

    BTW, if you go to Key West and snorkel, Blue Q is the way to go: all gay, clothing optional, super friendly.

    Posted by: Kyle Childress | Jun 5, 2008 8:14:02 PM


  5. coolness X wow

    Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Jun 5, 2008 8:14:14 PM


  6. Neato!

    Take away the boat and it looks something like a wallpaper pattern.

    Posted by: anon | Jun 5, 2008 9:16:15 PM


  7. Wow! That didn't register as real at first glance.

    Posted by: Aman Chaudhary | Jun 6, 2008 1:40:40 AM


  8. Crikey!

    Posted by: James | Jun 6, 2008 2:00:17 AM


  9. Wow - where was that taken...from Steve Irwins wife's "Nightmare"?

    Posted by: rex | Jun 6, 2008 8:21:59 AM


  10. Another very cool ocean animal thing. (Octopuses rock)

    http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/206

    Posted by: MAJeff | Jun 6, 2008 8:32:19 AM


  11. Thanks for the extra link to Zipcode Zoo, Andy! Pretty fascinating stuff. I thought the stingray classification was long...and then I looked up "human". Ha!

    Posted by: FizziekruntNT | Jun 6, 2008 10:04:52 AM


  12. WOW!! Skates and Rays are a couple of my favorite marine animals. They are just so graceful and hypnotic. What an incredible picture!

    Posted by: virgoboy | Jun 6, 2008 10:43:05 AM


  13. Like a painting by Escher!
    Apparently rays are on the rise, because of a collapse in the shark population:

    The vanished sharks fed on skates and rays, which have seen their populations grow by a factor of ten. Cownose rays now number 40 million, up from 4 million in 1972. These animals feed on scallops and clams; the increase in their numbers recently caused the collapse of North Carolina’s bay scallop fishery.

    http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/musings-inspired-by-a-quagga/

    Posted by: Nick | Jun 6, 2008 10:48:12 AM


  14. NICK...I'm glad you referenced the decline in the shark population. I recently watched a documentary called 'Sharkwater' that investigated the shark fin industry. Experts say 100 MILLION sharks are murdered each year by fishermen who catch them, cut off their fins and throw them back in the water where it takes hours or even days for them to die. The fins are then sold for use in shark fin soup or as medicinal products in Asia (even though shark fin has never been proven to cure or prevent any illness). Experts estimate that most shark species will be lost within a decade. The decline of the shark population has been linked to global warming due to the fact that sharks control populations of certain fish that eat plankton which in turn eat oxygen producing algae. I highly recommend 'Sharkwater'...besides, the guy who made it and who is the main 'character' in the film is HOT!

    Posted by: peterparker | Jun 6, 2008 11:42:57 AM


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