Looks like a sting ray say experts viewing photo

Wow talk about weird. I could see this turning into "Sea Monster in Mississippi River" I find this very interesting.

LINK HERE



Except:
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - It might have been a sting ray, but there was definitely something in the water at Memphis.

The Commercial Appeal reported Lyn Grimmig had gone to Mud Island last week to watch boat races on the Mississippi River. She was looking through binoculars when she saw something swimming on the surface that she said was as big as her truck hood.

Found Photo Link
PHOTO LINK









[edit on 6-8-2010 by Bachrk]

Where the bull#ery is the picture? I really wanna see!

Same here; where is the picture! Thanks for the link though.

reply to post by Bachrk


No pic in the article?

I have been to Mud Island a few times, and I have known of more than Manatees and Stingrays getting up that far. Bull Sharks are common in that area, and even further North, and into the Missouri River!

Just hypothesizing, but Sting Rays and Catfish are similar feeders, and the Mississippi is famous for its catfish, so I wouldn't doubt a stingray would thrive there as well. I'm just surprised nobody has caught one?

Found a photo of it. It'd be great if someone could put the photo up here.
You can't tell the size but the witness said it was as big as the hood of her truck. I cannot believe she didn't take more photos? I would have taken at least a dozen.

There are many who actually take tiny john boats out on the MS to fish. Talk about a scare if that came up and was bigger than the boat. Freaky

Thank You












[edit on 6-8-2010 by Bachrk]

Originally posted by Bachrk
Found a photo of it

Awww it's a little cutie pie. I want to go pet it and hold it.
Sting rays don't bite? Do they?

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel

Originally posted by Bachrk
Found a photo of it

Awww it's a little cutie pie. I want to go pet it and hold it.
Sting rays don't bite? Do they?

Ask Steve Irwin. He might tell you it was a bad idea!

I know the ones that you can feed at Disney World are freaky. They "suck" food out of your hand very strongly, and even the little debarbed ones kinda scare me!

I hear that a lot of the "scallops" that we eat are actually Stingray meat, and I love scallops, so stingrays must taste pretty good!

reply to post by Bachrk


I haven't seen the photo yet but I can tell you that stingrays, like many other species, are known to live in both salt and fresh water. As far as the size of it goes, I can tell you that my brother once caught a stingray in a shrimp net that weighed over 650 lbs. and it was over 10 ft. across from wingtip to wingtip. He caught this stingray in Corpus Christi bay about 20yrs. ago and it was all over the local news. These animals get really big if left alone.

reply to post by getreadyalready


I don't eat shellfish. What does it feel like petting them? At water parks in SoCal you can pet them all day long. I heard they even Squirt water.

Yeah it's a breed of sting ray.

See the tail, and the wide shape of the body area. Also the 'flaps' coming out of the water.

It's a sting ray alright.

Maybe it got lost or something? Perhaps going upstream to escape the polluted southern areas?

To get all the way to Memphis is a long swim though.

Also something rather confusing.

Aren't sting rays salt water animals? And isn't the Mississippi River a fresh water river?

I wonder how long it can survive in that type of water?

reply to post by muzzleflash


Usually we have whales swimming in from the Pacific ocean into our rivers in California. They can survive for a good time in fresh water. Around last year a mother and her baby got into our rivers and of course all the Californians came out to see them.

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
reply to post by getreadyalready

 

I don't eat shellfish. What does it feel like petting them? At water parks in SoCal you can pet them all day long. I heard they even Squirt water.

Stingrays are so smooth that they are almost slimy. There is no slime, but their skin is just so extremely slick. Kind of rubbery, but not rubbery like a dolphin. Dolpin skin squeeks when you touch it. It reminds me of a new vinyl pool toy. Stingrays almost feel oily, but there is no residue on your hand afterwards.

reply to post by getreadyalready


Thanks for giving me goosebumps and shivers now. Now I feel so dirty "Shakes"

I imagine there will be plenty of saltwater creatures swimming upriver to get away from the gulf.

Thanks BP

reply to post by Bachrk


Your wish is my command!

Here ya go...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/83afe6b7188b.jpeg[/atsimg]

link to photo

Pretty cool that! Thanks for posting the thread!

reply to post by badgerprints

I imagine there will be plenty of saltwater creatures swimming upriver to get away from the gulf.

That's what I was thinking Badgerbritches... *Waves 'Hi' in your direction*...

peace

Edit = For Badgerprints


[edit on 6-8-2010 by silo13]

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
reply to post by muzzleflash

 

Usually we have whales swimming in from the Pacific ocean into our rivers in California. They can survive for a good time in fresh water. Around last year a mother and her baby got into our rivers and of course all the Californians came out to see them.

Thanks for the reply.

Learn something new everyday!

Very interesting information there.

reply to post by muzzleflash


I'm surprised you never knew this! CNN played clips of the whales in the rivers.
What's amazing is that the whales survived days in California rivers.

It certainly looks like a sting ray and I hope it's okay too. I wonder, if a salt water creature can live long in fresh water.

I didn't know there was such a thing as fresh water sting rays, until I went into a pet store to by frog bits for my daughter's frog. The fresh water rays are in the US and get no larger than a dinner plate. It's all I could do not to buy one for my pond, but realized I didn't have enough sand in the bottom and it wouldn't have been practical. I read that they are usually very gentle creatures and will not harm, unless stepped on. The ones I saw were about the size of my fist.

Stingray... case closed

still odd that is was where it "was" though, although the animal in question is no longer a mystery its origins now are

Agree - that is a ray.

It might very well be a freshwater ray that made its way up somehow from south america or one that was turned loose.

An Introduction to Freshwater Stingrays

In the last few years freshwater rays have become increasingly available and popular and tanks have become larger and cheaper, making them a reasonable pet for the dedicated home aquarist. Although some other major rivers around the world have ray populations, most freshwater ray species are found in Amazonia, and as with its other flora and fauna, the Amazon system has an abundance of ray variants found all along the river and in many of its tributaries, from Peru and Colombia in the West to the mouth of the Amazon in North Eastern Brazil. Some ray species are also found in other tropical South American rivers with no direct connection to the Amazon.

If it is a freshwater ray it might be able to survive if it doesn't get too cold.