00:00It's breakfast time here at the South Carolina Aquarium, and I've been put in charge of feeding 17 hungry little mouths.
00:14Armed with a bowl full of shrimp, we're headed to the Stingray Tank, where the resident Atlantic and Southern Stingrays are patiently waiting for their meals to be served.
00:22So these rays enjoy their meal kebab style. All you have to do is grab a shrimp, skewer it, lower it into the water, and the rays will take care of the rest.
00:35As the Stingrays come closer for a meal, we have the opportunity to get a better look at their features.
00:41Their mouths are located on the underside of their bodies, and so are their gill slits and nostrils.
00:46But their eyes sit on top of their head, which makes it easy to keep a lookout for predators and prey while they rest on the ocean floor.
00:58It's obvious that these beautiful creatures have an ideal body plan for life underwater, and they certainly know their way around this tank, especially when it comes to feeding time.
01:08But did you know that Stingrays are actually members of a group known as cartilaginous fish?
01:13Instead, their skeletons aren't made of bone, they're made of cartilage, which is the same stuff that comprises the tips of our noses,
01:20which allows extra flexibility in those large wing-like fins.
01:24It's actually quite mesmerising to watch them fly through the water with effortless grace.
01:29And check out that tail! It's almost twice as long as its body.
01:33And if you look carefully, you can see the defence mechanism that gives the Stingray its name.
01:38The barbs on their tails are covered in a venomous mucus, and can in fact sting their predators if they're being attacked.
01:45And it's because of this barb that these magnificent creatures are often misunderstood.
01:49But with like any animal, whether under human care or in the wild,
01:53if you keep a safe distance and treat them with respect, we can live alongside them harmoniously.
01:58We'll see you next time while we go along.
02:00We're waiting!
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