Sting ray

Sting rays, also known as stingrays, were a mundane species of aquatic animal in the ray family. They were cousins of the much larger manta ray.

Description
The bodies of these creatures generally grew to be across and weigh roughly. Their tails were similarly and had one or more barbs near their base.

Behavior
Sting rays often covered themselves with sand near the ground of their ocean habitats, or burrowed beneath it, which rendered them mostly camouflaged to other predators.

Biology
The barbed tails that gave sting rays their name contained a powerful, painful venom that induced nausea.

Combat
When threatened, such as being accidentally stepped on, sting rays would lash out at the offending creature with their barbed tails and injected them with its poison.

Ecology
Sting rays were often encountered solitarily, in pairs, or in schools of five to twelve members.

Diet
Sting rays were a bottom feeding species of aquatic animal. They primarily fed upon crustaceans and shellfish.

Habitats
These creatures could be found in a variety of aquatic environments, in regions with a warm or tropical climate, though typically they inhabited shallow waters. In the Realms, sting rays were particularly known to inhabit the Sea of Fallen Stars.

Relationships
Some druids that frequented aquatic environments were known to have sting rays as an animal companion.

Usage
The tails of these creatures could be fashioned into a form of whip. Other creatures were known to harvest their venom to use as poison.