Editing Stingray (section)

=== Feeding behavior and diet ===
[[File:Bat-ray-NOAA-Tony-Chess.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bat ray]] (''Myliobatis californica'') in a feeding posture]]
Stingrays use a wide range of feeding strategies. Some have specialized jaws that allow them to crush hard mollusk shells,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kolmann MA, Huber DR, Motta PJ, Grubbs RD | title = Feeding biomechanics of the cownose ray, ''Rhinoptera bonasus'', over ontogeny | journal = Journal of Anatomy | volume = 227 | issue = 3 | pages = 341–51 | date = September 2015 | pmid = 26183820 | pmc = 4560568 | doi = 10.1111/joa.12342 }}</ref> whereas others use external mouth structures called cephalic lobes to guide plankton into their oral cavity.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dean MN, Bizzarro JJ, Summers AP | title = The evolution of cranial design, diet, and feeding mechanisms in batoid fishes | journal = Integrative and Comparative Biology | volume = 47 | issue = 1 | pages = 70–81 | date = July 2007 | pmid = 21672821 | doi = 10.1093/icb/icm034 | doi-access = free }}</ref> [[Benthic zone|Benthic]] stingrays (those that reside on the sea floor) are ambush hunters.<ref name="Curio">{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-81028-2 |title=The Ethology of Predation |date=1976 |last1=Curio |first1=Eberhard |isbn=978-3-642-81030-5 }}{{pn|date=November 2024}}</ref> They wait until prey comes near, then use a strategy called "tenting".<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wilga CD, Maia A, Nauwelaerts S, Lauder GV | title = Prey handling using whole-body fluid dynamics in batoids | journal = Zoology | volume = 115 | issue = 1 | pages = 47–57 | date = February 2012 | pmid = 22244456 | doi = 10.1016/j.zool.2011.09.002 | bibcode = 2012Zool..115...47W }}</ref> With pectoral fins pressed against the substrate, the ray will raise its head, generating a suction force that pulls the prey underneath the body. This form of whole-body suction is analogous to the buccal [[suction feeding]] performed by ray-finned fish. Stingrays exhibit a wide range of colors and patterns on their dorsal surface to help them camouflage with the sandy bottom. Some stingrays can even change color over the course of several days to adjust to new habitats. Since their mouths are on the underside of their bodies, they catch their prey, then crush and eat with their powerful jaws. Like its shark relatives, the stingray is outfitted with electrical sensors called ampullae of Lorenzini. Located around the stingray's mouth, these organs sense the natural electrical charges of potential prey. Many rays have jaw teeth to enable them to crush mollusks such as clams, oysters and mussels.

Most stingrays feed primarily on [[mollusca|mollusk]]s, [[crustacean]]s and, occasionally, on small fish. [[Potamotrygonidae|Freshwater stingrays]] in the Amazon feed on insects and break down their tough exoskeletons with mammal-like chewing motions.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kolmann MA, Welch KC, Summers AP, Lovejoy NR | title = Always chew your food: freshwater stingrays use mastication to process tough insect prey | journal = Proceedings. Biological Sciences | volume = 283 | issue = 1838 | pages = 20161392 | date = September 2016 | pmid = 27629029 | pmc = 5031661 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2016.1392 }}</ref> Large [[Pelagic fish|pelagic]] rays like the [[Manta ray|manta]] use [[Aquatic feeding mechanisms|ram feeding]] to consume vast quantities of [[plankton]] and have been seen swimming in acrobatic patterns through plankton patches.<ref name="Notarbartolo-di-Sciara 607–614">{{Cite journal|last1=Notarbartolo-di-Sciara|first1=Giuseppe|last2=Hillyer|first2=Elizabeth V. | name-list-style = vanc |date=1989-01-01|title=Mobulid Rays off Eastern Venezuela (Chondrichthyes, Mobulidae)|journal=Copeia|volume=1989|issue=3|pages=607–614|doi=10.2307/1445487|jstor=1445487}}</ref>