Where is the barb? Is it attached? Does the stingray "fire" a barb?
2006-09-04 03:05:25 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
The barb on the end of the tail went into his heart and killed him instantly. And it has venom in it.
2006-09-04 03:10:40 · answer #1 · answered by trumpetperson 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The barb is at the end of the stingray's tail. Generally it's used to injure 'predators' like sharks and is only shot out when it feels threatened. All the divers I've seen on tv this week and oceanographers are saying this was a totally freak accident.
Usually people step on stingrays and get the barb in their feet or toes.
I guess in Mr. Irwin's case he swam over the jelly fish and it got spooked. It was his time . Not that we like that idea but it was .
2006-09-05 14:12:25 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A stingray has a defence mecanism called a barb on its tail.
kind of like a barb on a fishing hook.
but with this it can also inject a venom or poison.
usually if you get stuck in the arm or leg,like a bee sting
it goes in and out on it;s own,and leaves behind the venom.
it is not fatal to humans,up until the other day
where since Mr Irwin was struck in the chest, it has benn concluded that the venom must have gotten into his heart
itself by way of direct injection,or by having been sent into
the main arteries that move the blood through the heart.
therefore it would have paralized the beating of the heart
or just plain stopped it,completly.Instantly.
therefore Mr Irwin unfortunetly never had a chance.
" death by lethal Injection ".
.
the barb as it is called is on the end of a stingrays tail.
a boney like hardened end that is very sharp.
used for protection,not for hunting.
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2006-09-06 02:11:45 · answer #3 · answered by rottentothecore 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The barb is his tail..when scared or threatened he will aim it straight up..the barbs have jagged edges..as soon as they penetrate the circulatory system is shut down immediately. Steve felt no pain, except perhaps the in initial "stab" ..What a horrible and shocking event..This is very rare. I think that there have been maybe about 17 deaths by stingrays in history...2 from Australia.
In zoos where singrays are kept the barb is removed
2006-09-05 16:19:26 · answer #4 · answered by hipergirl22 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The "barb" on a Stingray is located about 1/3 up the length of the tail from the base of the body. It is enclosed in a sort of sheath that covers it and can not be seen when it is at rest. Contrary to popular belief it is not at the end of the tail, and can not be swung around like a mace. The tail usually arcs over the body sort of like a scorpion but the barb being not at the tip.The "barb" is actually sort of like a fish scale and grows like a finger nail does, up to 12 inches long depending on size and species of stingray. If it is broken off which happens allot it will grow back. It sort of looks like a fish hook tip with 2 barbs on each side with many barbs along the length of it sort of looks like this >>>>>>>>>>> (This is the tip end ) It goes in easy but comes out ripping flesh. and to top that it also is covered in a poison that the ray secretes that causes extreme pain... The "barb" that entered Steve Irwin pierced his chest and punctured his heart. Sort of like getting stabbed in the heart with a serrated knife covered in poison... I have seen small stingrays embed there "barb" in planks of wood on a dock some going in about a 1/4 inch. A chest cavity of a human would be no problem to pierce...
2006-09-05 14:45:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Stingrays don't kill people. There are only 3 known deaths caused by stingrays, ever. Well, 4 now.
The barb is similar to a tail coming off the stingray. Steve Irwin, as I suppose that's who you are referring to, was impaled on the ray. The rays have poison on them, but usually only brush up against small prey, to stun them. With something like that impaled through ones heart, that much poison caused death.
2006-09-05 11:08:58 · answer #6 · answered by millancad 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The barb is at the end of it's tail and it is attached. The barb has poison in it that injects into whatever it hits. The said earlier that it is rare for someone to die from a stingray, but Steve Irwin was hit in the chest directly at his heart. That was why it was fatal.
2006-09-04 03:13:29 · answer #7 · answered by lilbitadevil 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The barb is like an upward facing hook right above where the tail attaches. My mom got stung by one in the hand, and it cut her pretty good. When you get stung, I think there is some sort of venom released. The bigger the stingray, the bigger the barb. The one that killed Mr. Irwin was probably very large.
2006-09-04 03:12:00 · answer #8 · answered by kelee 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The barb is the thing at the end of the tail. It has sharp ridges like a knife and has poison.
When the stingray gets scared it kinda props it up in a defensive position.
Steve Irwin was swimming on top of the sting ray. It spooked and put up it's tail, which unfortunately went through Irwin's ribs and into his heart. Probably causing cardiac arrest if not instant death.
RIP Steve Irwin
2006-09-04 03:11:52 · answer #9 · answered by ballerina_kim 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The "barb" is on the end of the tail. It is a very sharp protrusion and it delivers toxins. Sadly for Steve, the barb penetrated under his rib cage and directly into his heart. Usually, stingray stings are not fatal.
2006-09-04 03:23:18 · answer #10 · answered by ARE YOUR NEWFS GELLIN'? 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The sad thing is, is that he did not die instantly because they filmed him pulling out the barb from his chest and then seconds later he was gone. Amazingly, only 3-17 people have been killed due to a stingray attack.
2006-09-05 01:59:36 · answer #11 · answered by Flexis 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋