Video: That's One Whale Of A Stingray; Diver Encounters Giant Ray

TARPON SPRINGS, FL -- The dive instructors at the Narcosis Scuba Center in Tarpon Springs, Florida, have seen their fair share of amazing sea creatures since the center opened in 1996. But their encounter with a giant stingray on Sunday, March 17 tops their list of all-time favorites.

Instructor Shawn Campbell was participating in a dive at a plane wreck off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico when he spotted something that piqued his interest.

"I see something in the sand while everyone else is looking at the wrecks, and it gets larger and larger and larger as I get closer," he said.

It was a whiptail stingray.

There are more than 70 species of whiptail stingrays belonging to a family called Dasyatidae. This one is most likely a roughtail stingray, acording to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It's the largest species of whiptail found in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico with a wingspan of 7.25 feet. These rays can weigh up to 660 pounds.

They spend most of their time buried in the soft sediment on the sea floor at depths of 600 to 900 feet, waiting for shrimps, crabs and other favorite snacks to wander by.

"That is the biggest ray of that species that I've ever seen," said Campell, who has dived all over the world. "I've seen manta rays, but this species in the Gulf? I've never seen one that big before. It was a real treat to see."

Campbell estimates this ray was 10 to 12 feet long.

"I decided to swim parallel to the ray just so I could show how big the thing is," Campbell said. A fellow diver videotaped the encounter. Campbell is 6 feet tall and was wearing 2-foot fins, yet the ray dwarfed him.

The ray didn't seem to mind the attention, however. It allowed Campbell to swim within 6 feet of it before it swam away.

According to the FWC, these rays are non-aggressive and pose little danger to people unless, of course, you happen to step on the venomous barb on their spine. A stingray sting can be extremely painful and often requires a trip to the hospital to remove the barb.