 Though not aggressive , the common stingray can inflict an excruciating wound with its serrated , venomous tail spine . The ancient Greeks and Romans greatly feared its venom , with authors such as Aelian ( 175 – 235 AD ) stating that stingray wounds were incurable . The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder ( 23 – 79 AD ) , in his Natural History , asserted that its spine was capable of killing trees , piercing armor like an arrow , and corroding iron . Greek poet Oppian ( 172 – 210 AD ) claimed that the touch of stingray venom could even dissolve stone . In Greek mythology , Hercules was said to have lost a finger to the bite of a stingray , and Circe was said to have armed her son Telegonus with a spear tipped with a stingray spine , with which he accidentally slew his father Odysseus . 
