Not just Shark Pictures:
Elasmodiver contains photos of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaera's
from around the world. It began as a simple web based field guide to
help divers find the best places to encounter different species of
sharks and rays but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project
containing information on all aspects of shark diving and
photography. There are now more than a thousand shark pictures
and sections on shark evolution, biology, and conservation. There is
a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly outdated shark
taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site
there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters.
Elasmodiver is now so difficult to check for updates, that new
information and pictures are listed
on an Elasmodiver Updates Page that
can be accessed here:
If you're
looking for a broader range of marine life pictures the following
links represent a new area that contains pictures on other marine
organisms and on marine habitats. This expansion of Elasmodiver is
in its first stages but will eventually include pages on everything
from sea stars to nudibranches. Creating this portal will take time
and for now it consists of a token offering of fish pictures. Please
return regularly to enjoy the progress.
Identification: Somewhat rhomboid disc. Bluntly rounded snout and rounded
anterior disc margin. Younger specimens have a very noticeable bump (about the
size of a pea) protruding from the front, centre of the snout. Tail long. Well
defined dorsal finfold on tail. Dorsum tan. Ventrum pale. Less tubercles on back
than Southern stingray.
Size: Maximum disc width 36 inches.
Habitat: Near shore, estuaries, and sand flats. Intertidal to 10 meters.
Abundance and distribution: Coastal New Jersey to Northern Gulf of Mexico
and South to Argentina. Widespread in West Indies.
Behavior: Forages in sand, for fish, clams, worms, and shrimps.
Reproduction: Ovoviviparous.
Observations:
Photographs: Panama City, Florida.
Similar species: Southern stingray, Atlantic stingray.
Reaction to divers: Skittish but will allow a slow approach.
Diving logistics: These rays can be found at the Jetty at St. Andrews
State Recreation Area at Panama City. It is possible to snorkel with them or
dive but I found them mainly in the 8 to 15ft range, so tanks are not really
necessary. Air fills can be obtained from Panama City Dive Centre near the
entrance to the park. Two options are to dive the beach on the right side of the
rock jetty or swim through the sheltered swimming area and drop into the
channel. Make sure you have an incoming tide for clarity and to avoid being
swept out into the bay. This is a great area to find rays. On the same dives and
snorkels I found Southern stingrays and Atlantic stingrays. I also saw a school
of around 25 Devil rays but sadly I didn’t have my camera when they showed up.
Other diving locations submitted by readers: I spoke to the curator of
Mote Marine Aquarium in Sarasota regarding their Bluntnose ray and he told me
that they had not had a Bluntnose stingray in the Aquarium before as they are
not commonly encountered. This leads me believe that the abundance of them
around Panama City at that time may have been unusually high.
References:
Fishbase.com
Scott W. Michael - Reef Sharks and Rays of the
World.
