Maeklong River, Thailand

This beast captured by Brit researcher Ian Welch measured a whopping 14ft long and weighed in at 23 stone! Stingrays swim with a "flying" motion of their large pectoral wings. Their stinger is a razor-sharp, venomous spine which grows from the ray's whip-like tail. Stingrays are flat so they can hide on the seabed.

When attacked by predators or stepped on, the stingray's barbed stinger is whipped up. However, fatal stings, such as that which killed Australian naturalist and TV personality Steve Irwin in September 2006, are extremely rare.