The short-tail stingray is usually slow-moving, but can achieve sudden bursts of speed, flapping its pectoral fins with enough force to cavitate the water and create an audible "bang".
Cavitation is when a liquid is pushed faster that it can react, causing a drop in pressure.
It is known to form large seasonal aggregations; a well-known example occurs every summer (January to April) at the Poor Knights Islands off New Zealand, particularly under the rocky archways.
In some areas, it moves with the rising tide into very shallow water.
Individual rays tend to stay inside a relatively small home range with a radius of under 25 km (16 mi).
Captive experiments have shown it capable of detecting magnetic fields via its electroreceptive ampullae of Lorenzini, which in nature may be employed for navigation.

The short-tail stingray forages for food both during the day and at night.
It feeds primarily on benthic bony fishes and invertebrates, such as molluscs and crustaceans.
The lateral line system on its underside allows it to detect the minute water jets produced by buried bivalves and spoon worms, which are then extracted by suction; the excess water is expelled through the spiracles.
Fishes and invertebrates from open water, including salps and hyperiid amphipods, are also eaten in significant quantities.
Off South Africa, this ray has been observed patrolling the egg beds of the chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) during mass spawnings, capturing squid that descend to the bottom to spawn.
The short-tail stingray has few predators due to its size; these included the copper shark, the smooth hammerhead, the great white shark, and the killer whale.
When threatened, it raises its tail warningly over its back like a scorpion.
Smaller fishes have been observed using swimming rays for cover while hunting their own prey.
Known parasites of this species include the nematode Echinocephalus overstreeti, and the monogeneans Heterocotyle tokoloshei and Dendromonocotyle sp.
The short-tail stingray is usually slow-moving, but can achieve sudden bursts of speed, flapping its pectoral fins with enough force to cavitate the water and create an audible "bang". Cavitation is when a liquid is pushed faster that it can react, causing a drop in pressure. It is known to form large seasonal aggregations; a well-known example occurs every summer (January to April) at the Poor Knights Islands off New Zealand, particularly under the rocky archways. In some areas, it moves with the rising tide into very shallow water. Individual rays tend to stay inside a relatively small home range with a radius of under 25 km (16 mi). Captive experiments have shown it capable of detecting magnetic fields via its electroreceptive ampullae of Lorenzini, which in nature may be employed for navigation.
The short-tail stingray forages for food both during the day and at night. It feeds primarily on benthic bony fishes and invertebrates, such as molluscs and crustaceans. The lateral line system on its underside allows it to detect the minute water jets produced by buried bivalves and spoon worms, which are then extracted by suction; the excess water is expelled through the spiracles. Fishes and invertebrates from open water, including salps and hyperiid amphipods, are also eaten in significant quantities. Off South Africa, this ray has been observed patrolling the egg beds of the chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) during mass spawnings, capturing squid that descend to the bottom to spawn. The short-tail stingray has few predators due to its size; these included the copper shark, the smooth hammerhead, the great white shark, and the killer whale. When threatened, it raises its tail warningly over its back like a scorpion. Smaller fishes have been observed using swimming rays for cover while hunting their own prey. Known parasites of this species include the nematode Echinocephalus overstreeti, and the monogeneans Heterocotyle tokoloshei and Dendromonocotyle sp.
Short-tail stingray