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THE SWAMP Continued

WHITE-BLOTCHED

RIVER STINGRA

Potamotrygon leopoldi

Fascinating Fact: Living things generate weak electric signals that travel
through water. Sharks and stingrays, including this species, have special
electroreceptors called ampullae of Lorenzini that can detect these signals
and locate prey.
Native to Brazil’s Xingu River basin, this is one of the world’s rarest
stingrays and one of only a few freshwater species. It can grow to a
diameter of 12 to 16 inches and a length of 2 feet. Its flat body and polka-
dotted skin provide excellent camouflage on the sun-dappled floors of
rocky riverbeds. It also hides under sand and gravel with its eyes poking
out to watch for what swims by above it.
This stingray mostly eats fish and aquatic invertebrates, as well as snails WHY WETLANDS
and crabs. Its mouth, located on its underside, can crush even hard shells. MUST BE SAVED
For self-defense, its tail is tipped with sharp, venomous barbs.
The IUCN lists its status as “vulnerable.” Its population has been Brookfield Zoo’s Dragonfly Marsh
depleted by its popularity in the illegal pet trade, the loss and pollution is a type of wetland. The conservation
of its habitat, dam construction, and longer and more frequent droughts and restoration of wetlands is vital
caused by climate change. CZS participates in AZA’s Species Survival to wildlife and humans alike because
Plan for this species. wetlands:
• Absorb and sequester large amounts
of carbon in soils and plants, which
slows global warming; carbon is
released when wetlands are destroyed
• Prevent flooding by slowing and
absorbing floodwater and snow
melt like giant sponges
• Filter pollutants out of water
before the water fills underground
aquifers or flows into streams and
rivers and eventually oceans
• Act as barriers and shock absorbers
for coastal areas pummeled by
storms and increasingly affected
by erosion and sea-level rise due
to climate change
• Contain precious resources, including
lumber and seafood, that sustain
the lives and livelihoods of millions
of people around the world

22 GATEWAYS | THE SWAMP