Most stingrays have one or more barbed stings on the tail, which is used "only" for self-defence. The sting may reach about 35 cm, and its underside has two grooves with venom glands. The sting is covered with a thin layer of skin, the sheath, in which the venom is held. A few members of the suborder, such as the manta rays and the porcupine ray, do not have stings.
Stingrays are common in coastal tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world. There are species in warm temperate oceans, and some found in the ocean. Some live in fresh water. Most stingrays live at or near the bottom of the water, but some are pelagic.
Stingrays settle on the bottom while feeding, often leaving only their eyes and tail visible. Coral reefs are favorite feeding grounds and are usually shared with sharks during high tide.
The flattened bodies of stingrays allow them to hide themselves. Stingrays agitate the sand and hide beneath it. Their eyes are on top of their bodies and their mouths on the undersides. Stingrays use smell and electro-receptors (like those of sharks) to find their prey.
Stingrays feed mostly on molluscs, crustaceans, and occasionally on small fish. Some stingrays' mouths have two powerful, shell-crushing plates, while other species have sucking mouthparts that bring in the plankton.
Stingrays are ovoviviparous, bearing live young in 'litters' of five to thirteen. The female holds the embryos in the womb without a placenta. Instead, the embryos absorb nutrients from a yolk sac, and after the sac is depleted, the mother provides uterine 'milk'.
At the Sea Life London Aquarium two female stingrays have delivered seven baby stingrays, although the mothers have not been near a male for two years. "Rays have been known to store sperm and not give birth until they decide the timing is right".
Like all fish, stingrays get little parasites (such as flukes or copepods) on their gills or body. A cleaner fish helps the stingrays by eating the parasites it can get at.
There are eight families in the stingray group. They are:
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (; pronounced rahk-MAH-nin-off) was a famous Russian composer and pianist. He was born on April 1, 1873 (N.S.) and died on March 28, 1943. Because the Russian language uses a different alphabet his name is sometimes spelled in different ways in English (“Sergei” or “Sergey”, and “Rachmaninoff”, “Rachmaninov”, “Rakhmaninov” or “Rakhmaninoff”). "Sergei Rachmaninoff" is the way he spelled his own name when he was in the United States.
Rachmaninoff is considered one of the greatest pianists of the 1900's. He could play extremely difficult music and had very large hands, so that he could play chords with large stretches. It is said that he could play a 13th. Rachmaninoff was a very tall man for his times, standing about 6' 6". Rachmaninoff is also considered a great composer, writing predominantly in the Romantic style, even though he lived most of his adult life in the 1900s, whereas the Romantic style period is usually said to have ended around 1910. His music is characterized by lyrical melodies that are very memorable. His piano compositions are among the most difficult to play in the keyboard repertoire.
Rachmaninoff was born in Semyonovo, near Novgorod in the north-west of Russia. Members of his family were important people who had been in the service of the tsars of Russia. His parents played the piano and arranged for him to have piano lessons in Saint Petersburg and then Moscow.
While he was still a student he wrote a short opera called "Aleko". He also wrote some piano pieces including a "Prelude in C sharp minor" with loud, heavy chords. This piece became extremely famous and is still his most popular piano piece today. He used to get fed up with people asking him to play the piece.
Not all his music was well-liked at first. The critics thought his "First Symphony" was very bad. This may have been because the orchestra did not play it very well, but it made Rachmaninoff stop composing for a while. After some years of feeling depressed he wrote his "Second Piano Concerto" which everybody liked very much.
Rachmaninoff became happier. He was allowed to marry Natalia after years of engagement during which the Russian Orthodox Church did not want them to be married. The political conditions in Russia were bad so he lived in Germany and Italy for a time. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 he left his country and never returned. He had been very successful with his "Third Piano Concerto" in the United States, so he went to live in the United States in 1918. Russia had become the Soviet Union and for many years Rachmaninoff’s music was not allowed to be performed there. This worried him a lot and he felt homesick. He did not write very much music during the rest of his life in the United States. One work that did become very popular was the "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" which he wrote in Switzerland in 1934. He died of melanoma in Beverly Hills, California.
Rachmaninoff’s piano music is mostly difficult to play. He wrote many short pieces called preludes and some studies which are some of the hardest piano music written since Liszt. As well as the "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" he wrote four piano concertos. The Second and Third are very popular today, as is his "Second Symphony". The second concerto reaches the lowest C on the piano, making it one of the lowest pieces of music (this is lower than a bass, which goes down to D).
He wrote some very beautiful choral music which includes a piece for choir and orchestra called "The Bells" and a very long, religious work called the "All-Night Vigil" (sometimes called the "Vespers").
He wrote some chamber music including a cello sonata.
There are several excellent recordings of Rachmaninoff playing his own music. Most of these are available now on CD reissues.
Turbot
Turbot is a large flatfish. It is a demersal fish which lives in marine or brackish waters. It is found in the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Turbot are fished for food, and have a delicate flavour. They are farmed in a number of countries, and are quite expensive in restaurants.
When caught, professional fishermen often make small cuts through the bone near the tailfin. This lets the blood out and keeps the meat white. Storing the Turbot upside down also helps in keeping the underside of the fish white.
William Gallas
William Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French football player. He plays for Arsenal in England. He plays as a Defender.
Before joining Arsenal, Gallas has played for Olympique Marseille of France and Chelsea of England. He also played for France in the 2006 World Cup, winning the runner-up. In 2006 he turned to join Arsenal.
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Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud Van Nistelrooy (born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch retired professional football player who has played for the Netherlands national team. He is the fourth-highest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history with 56 goals. He played for Manchester United until 2006, where he has the record for being the club's top scorer in European competition. Van Nistelrooy last played for Hamburger SV. His retired on 14 May 2012.
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Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African-American civil rights activist. She was called "the mother of the Modern-Day American civil rights movement" and "the mother of the freedom movement".