The tributes still pour in around the world for Steve Irwin who was killed yesterday by a Stingray Barb. A rather curious article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald today when a mother compared Steve Irwin’s death to that of Princess Diana and JFK, for children. I can’t see it on that scale to be honest but it certainly doesn’t belittle his death and contribution to wildlife and charities. I have to admit before I heard about this tragic accident I had never known about the stingray’s lethal attack or indeed what it was capable of. Given such a name I assumed rather naively that it would just sting you if you touched a live specimen, the last thing I expected to hear was a death occurring from such a defensive reaction by a stingray.
As I mentioned, I had no idea what the stingray was capable of before yesterday and when I looked around the net for the “barb” I never expected to see such a lethal image. It’s a cross between a long knife and shark scales. Stingrays can be found in both freshwater and marine habitats throughout the world. It must be stressed that not all stingrays can sting but unless you know what you are looking at you’d never know.

So what is the sting all about?

The venom apparatus or “sting” of a stingray is a spine or modified dermal denticle (the scales covering sharks and stingrays) with two ventral grooves filled with venom-producing tissue. The venom apparatus is surrounded by a cell-rich covering or sheath that also may produce lesser amounts of venom. The venom itself is a largely protein-based toxin that causes great pain in mammals and may also alter heart rate and respiration. However, since it is proteinaceous, it can be inactivated by exposure to high temperatures. Because of this, immersion of the wound in hot water or applications of a heat compress are recommended as an immediate treatment for unfortunate victims of a stingray injury or “envenomation.” Although this may reduce the initial pain of a stingray injury, victims should still obtain medical assistance so that the wound can be properly examined and cleaned to avoid secondary infections or other complications.

As mentioned above, the sting on most pelagic stingrays is situated near the base of the tail. This may discourage predators from biting the animal near its vital organs. In contrast, the sting of most bottom-dwelling stingrays is located further away from the body, making it a more effective and dangerous “striking” weapon. However, it should be pointed out that the sting is purely a defensive weapon only and that the “striking” action is an involuntary response rather than a conscious “attack.”

Mote Marine Laboratory has a great section on the stingray and what it can and can’t do, check it out.