The
guitarfish are a family,
Rhinobatidae, of
raysBatoidea is a superorder of cartilaginous fish containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families. They are commonly known as rays, but that term is also used specifically for batoids in the order Rajiformes, the "true rays"...
. The guitarfish are known for an elongated body with a flattened head and trunk and small ray like wings. The combined range of the various species is tropical, subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. They often travel in large
schoolsIn biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are said to be shoaling , and if, in addition, the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are said to be schooling . In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely...
.
Description
Adult guitarfish grow to a length of between and , but
Rhynchobatus djiddensis can weigh and grow to in length. These fish are bottom feeders, preferring small
crustaceanCrustaceans are a very large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles...
s. Their teeth are small and numerous, usually arranged in 65 or 70 rows. Guitarfish are ovoviviparous, with the young hatching out of the eggs after leaving the mother's body.
Guitarfishes have a body form intermediate between those of sharks and rays. The tail has a typical ray-like form, but in many species the head has a triangular, or shovel-like shape, rather than the disc-shape formed by fusion with the pectoral fin found in other rays.
Notable species include the
shovelnose guitarfishThe shovelnose guitarfish, Rhinobatos productus, is a ray that ranges from central California down to the Sea of Cortez. This species has had one documented case of an attack on a diver when a male guitarfish was interrupted during mating. Due to the tooth structure of the guitarfish, this attack...
,
Rhinobatos productus, and the
bowmouth guitarfishThe bowmouth guitarfish, bowmouth wedgefish, or shark ray is a member of the order of Rajiformes, being related to skates and rays. It is the only member of the genus Rhina.-Range:...
,
Rhina ancylostoma.
Classification
The taxonomy of this group is highly uncertain. Some taxonomists put Rhinobatidae in its own order,
Rhinobatiformes; others place it in the order
MyliobatiformesMyliobatiformes Compagno, 1973 is a proposed order of rays. It is a sister group to Rajiformes, the true rays, and contains the following families:* Dasyatidae * Gymnuridae * Mobulidae * Myliobatidae...
with the
eagle rayThe eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom....
s and their relatives.
In some classifications the family is split into three, with the genus
RhinaRhina may refer to:* Bowmouth guitarfish, Rhina ancylostoma* Rhina, Hesse, a village in Germany...
in the family Rhinidae, and the genus
RhynchobatusRhynchobatus is a genus of fish in the Rhynchobatidae family found in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific with a single species in the eastern Atlantic...
in the family Rhynochobatidae (or these two genera may be classified together). These families may be raised to the level of orders: Rhiniformes and Rhynchobatiformes, respectively.
This article follows
FishBaseFishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. , it included descriptions of over 30,000 species, over 260,000 common names in hundreds of languages, over 46,000 pictures, and references to more than 42,000 works in the scientific literature....
in including about fifty species in ten genera:
- Genus Aptychotrema
Aptychotrema is a genus of fish in the Rhinobatidae family.It contains the following species:* spotted shovelnose ray * southern shovelnose ray...
- Short-snouted shovelnose ray, Aptychotrema bougainvillii (Müller
Johannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Life:Müller was born in Koblenz....
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1841)
- East Australian shovelnose ray
Aptychotrema Rostrata, common names Banjo Fish, Banks Shovelnose Ray, Common Shovelnosed Ray, Eastern Shovelnose Ray, Long-Snouted Shovelnose Ray, Southern Shovelnose Ray, Shovelnose Shark or simply Shovelnose Ray is a species of fish in the family Rhinobatidae.It is also used as seafood.-External...
, Aptychotrema rostrata (Shaw, 1794)
- Western shovelnose ray, Aptychotrema vincentiana (Haacke, 1885)
- Genus Platyrhina
Platyrhina is a genus of guitarfish, family Rhinobatidae, with two species. Along with the thornback guitarfish, they are sometimes placed in their own family, Platyrhinidae. They are native to the warm-temperate to tropical marine waters in the western Pacific Ocean...
- Amoy fanray, Platyrhina limboonkengi Tang, 1933
- Fanray, Platyrhina sinensis (Bloch
Marcus Elieser Bloch was a German medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologists of the 18th century.- Life :...
& SchneiderJohann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German classicist and naturalist.Schneider was born at Koilmen in Saxony...
, 1801)
- Genus Platyrhinoidis
- Thornback guitarfish, Platyrhinoidis triseriata (Jordan
David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist , educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University....
& Gilbert, 1880)
- Genus Rhina
Rhina may refer to:* Bowmouth guitarfish, Rhina ancylostoma* Rhina, Hesse, a village in Germany...
- Bowmouth guitarfish
The bowmouth guitarfish, bowmouth wedgefish, or shark ray is a member of the order of Rajiformes, being related to skates and rays. It is the only member of the genus Rhina.-Range:...
, Rhina ancylostoma BlochMarcus Elieser Bloch was a German medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologists of the 18th century.- Life :...
& SchneiderJohann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German classicist and naturalist.Schneider was born at Koilmen in Saxony...
, 1801
- Genus Rhinobatos
Rhinobatos is a genus of fish in the Rhinobatidae family.It contains the following species:* lesser guitarfish * bluntnose guitarfish * blackchin guitarfish...
- White-spotted guitarfish
The white-spotted guitarfish is a type of ray. It is found in the eastern Atlantic from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola. It reaches a length of approximatly 75 cm....
, Rhinobatos albomaculatus Norman, 1930thumb
- Annandale's guitarfish, Rhinobatos annandalei Norman, 1926
- Lesser sandshark, Rhinobatos annulatus Müller
Johannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Life:Müller was born in Koblenz....
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1841
- Bluntnose guitarfish
The bluntnose guitarfish or fiddlefish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family. It is found in Namibia and South Africa. Its natural habitats are shallow seas and estuarine waters. It is threatened by habitat loss....
, Rhinobatos blochii MüllerJohannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Life:Müller was born in Koblenz....
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1841
- Blackchin guitarfish, Rhinobatos cemiculus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817
- Taiwan guitarfish
The Taiwan guitarfish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family. It is found in Taiwan and possibly the Philippines. Its natural habitats are open seas, shallow seas, coral reefs, and estuarine waters.-Source:...
, Rhinobatos formosensis Norman, 1926
- Speckled guitarfish, Rhinobatos glaucostigma Jordan
David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist , educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University....
& Gilbert, 1883
- Sharpnose guitarfish
The sharpnose guitarfish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family.It is found in Australia, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, possibly China, and possibly Oman. Its natural habitats are open seas, coral reefs, and...
, Rhinobatos granulatus CuvierGeorges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier was a French naturalist and zoologist. Of humble working class origins, he belonged to a new class of self-made scholars who worked their way to the top of academe...
, 1829
- Halavi's guitarfish, Rhinobatos halavi (Forsskål
Peter Forsskål, sometimes spelled Pehr Forsskål, Peter Forskaol, Petrus Forskål or Pehr Forsskåhl, was a Swedish explorer, orientalist and naturalist.-Early life:...
, 1775)
- Slender guitarfish, Rhinobatos holcorhynchus Norman, 1922
- Brazilian guitarfish
The Brazilian guitarfish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitat is estuarine waters.-Source:* Lessa, R. & Vooren, C.M. 2000. . Downloaded on 03 August 2007....
, Rhinobatos horkelii MüllerJohannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Life:Müller was born in Koblenz....
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1841
- Angel fish, Rhinobatos hynnicephalus Richardson
Sir John Richardson was a Scottish naval surgeon, naturalist and arctic explorer.Richardson was born at Dumfries. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University , and became a surgeon in the navy in 1807. He traveled with John Franklin in search of the Northwest Passage on the Coppermine Expedition...
, 1846
- Spineback guitarfish, Rhinobatos irvinei Norman, 1931
- Rhinobatos jimbaranensis Last, White & Fahmi, 2006
- Atlantic guitarfish, Rhinobatos lentiginosus Garman
Samuel Walton Garman was a naturalist/ zoologist from Pennsylvania. He studied under Louis Agassiz. In 1868 he joined an expedition to the American West with John Wesley Powell. He was a friend and regular correspondent of the naturalist Edward Drinker Cope and in 1872 accompanied him on a fossil...
, 1880
- Whitesnout guitarfish, Rhinobatos leucorhynchus (Günther, 1867)
- Grayspottted guitarfish, Rhinobatos leucospilus Norman, 1926
- Smoothback guitarfish, Rhinobatos lionotus Norman, 1926
- Smalleyed guitarfish, Rhinobatos microphthalmus Teng, 1959
- Rhinobatos nudidorsalis Last, Compagno & Nakaya, 2004
- Widenose guitarfish
The widenose guitarfish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family. It is found in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are open seas, shallow seas, coral reefs, and estuarine waters.-Source:* Compagno, L.J.V. & Marshall,...
, Rhinobatos obtusus MüllerJohannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Life:Müller was born in Koblenz....
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1841
- Rhinobatos ocellatus Norman, 1926
- Rhinobatos penggali Last, White & Fahmi, 2006
- Chola guitarfish, Rhinobatos percellens (Walbaum
Johann Julius Walbaum , a native of Lübeck, Germany was a physician, naturalist and taxonomist. He was the first to describe many previously unknown species from remote parts of the globe, such as the Great Barracuda , the Chum salmon from the Kamchatka River in Siberia, and the curimatá-pacú...
, 1792)
- Madagascar guitarfish, Rhinobatos petiti Chabanaud, 1929
- Pacific guitarfish, Rhinobatos planiceps Garman
Samuel Walton Garman was a naturalist/ zoologist from Pennsylvania. He studied under Louis Agassiz. In 1868 he joined an expedition to the American West with John Wesley Powell. He was a friend and regular correspondent of the naturalist Edward Drinker Cope and in 1872 accompanied him on a fossil...
, 1880
- Gorgona guitarfish, Rhinobatos prahli Acero P. & Franke, 1995
- Shovelnose guitarfish
The shovelnose guitarfish, Rhinobatos productus, is a ray that ranges from central California down to the Sea of Cortez. This species has had one documented case of an attack on a diver when a male guitarfish was interrupted during mating. Due to the tooth structure of the guitarfish, this attack...
, Rhinobatos productus (AyresWilliam Orville Ayres was an American physician and ichthyologist. Born in Connecticut, he studied to become a doctor at Yale University School of Medicine....
, 1854)
- Spotted guitarfish, Rhinobatos punctifer Compagno & Randall, 1987
- Common guitarfish, Rhinobatos rhinobatos (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature...
, 1758)
- Salalah guitarfish
The salalah guitarfish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family. It is endemic to possibly Oman. Its natural habitat is open seas.-Source:* Compagno, L.J.V. & Marshall, A.D. 2005. . Downloaded on 03 August 2007....
, Rhinobatos salalah Randall & Compagno, 1995
- Yellow guitarfish, Rhinobatos schlegelii Müller
Johannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Life:Müller was born in Koblenz....
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1841
- Spiny guitarfish, Rhinobatos spinosus Günther, 1870
- Clubnose guitarfish
The clubnose guitarfish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family. It is found in Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan,...
, Rhinobatos thouin (Anonymous, 1798)
- Giant shovelnose ray, Rhinobatos typus Anonymous [Bennett], 1830
- Stripenose guitarfish, Rhinobatos variegatus Nair & Lal Mohan, 1973
- Zanzibar guitarfish
The Zanzibar guitarfish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitats are open seas and shallow seas.-Source:...
, Rhinobatos zanzibarensis Norman, 1926
- Genus Rhynchobatus
Rhynchobatus is a genus of fish in the Rhynchobatidae family found in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific with a single species in the eastern Atlantic...
- White-spotted wedgefish, Rhynchobatus australiae
The white-spotted guitarfish or white-spotted wedgefish is a species of fish in the Rhynchobatidae family. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are open seas and shallow seas...
Whitley, 1939
- Giant guitarfish
The giant guitarfish, Rhynchobatus djidensis, is a species of guitarfish in the family Rhinobatidae.-Taxonomy and range:The giant guitarfish was previously believed to range throughout a large part of the Indo-Pacific, but recent evidence has shown that it, as traditionally defined, actually was a ...
, Rhynchobatus djiddensis (ForsskålPeter Forsskål, sometimes spelled Pehr Forsskål, Peter Forskaol, Petrus Forskål or Pehr Forsskåhl, was a Swedish explorer, orientalist and naturalist.-Early life:...
, 1775)
- Smoothnose wedgefish
The smoothnose wedgefish is a species of fish in the Rhynchobatidae family. It is found in Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is shallow seas. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* McAuley, R. & Compagno, L.J.V. 2003. . ...
, Rhynchobatus laevis (BlochMarcus Elieser Bloch was a German medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologists of the 18th century.- Life :...
& SchneiderJohann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German classicist and naturalist.Schneider was born at Koilmen in Saxony...
, 1801)
- African wedgefish
The African wedgefish, guitarra, Lubbert's guitarfish, or spikenose wedgefish is a species of fish in the Rhynchobatidae family...
, Rhynchobatus luebberti Ehrenbaum, 1915
- Genus Tarsistes
- Tarsistes philippii
Tarsistes philippii is a species of guitarfish, family Rhinobatidae. It is known only from a dried head from the Juan Fernández Islands off Chile. The head had a long, thin, flat snout, rounded at the tip like that of the goblin shark, and the underside covered with small stellate prickles except...
JordanDavid Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist , educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University....
, 1919
- Genus Trygonorrhina
The fiddler rays or banjo sharks are a genus, Trygonorrhina, of guitarfish, family Rhinobatidae. There are three species, found along the eastern and southern coasts of Australia. They are benthic in nature, favoring shallow sandy bays, rocky reefs, and seagrass beds...
- Southern fiddler, Trygonorrhina fasciata (Müller
Johannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Life:Müller was born in Koblenz....
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1841)
- Magpie fiddler ray, Trygonorrhina melaleuca Scott, 1954
- Genus Zanobatus
- Striped panray, Zanobatus schoenleinii (Müller
Johannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Life:Müller was born in Koblenz....
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1841)
- Genus Zapteryx
Zapteryx is a genus of fish in the Rhinobatidae family.It contains the following species:* shortnose guitarfish * banded guitarfish * southern banded guitarfish...
- Lesser guitarfish
The lesser guitarfish or lesser sandshark is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family. It is found in Angola, Namibia, South Africa, and possibly Mozambique. Its natural habitats are shallow seas and estuarine waters. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* Burgess, G.H., Holtzhausen,...
, Zapteryx brevirostris (MüllerJohannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Life:Müller was born in Koblenz....
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1841)
- Banded guitarfish
The banded guitarfish, mottled guitarfish, prickly skate, or striped guitarfish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family. It is found in Mexico, the United States, possibly Colombia, possibly Costa Rica, possibly Ecuador, possibly El Salvador, possibly Guatemala, possibly Nicaragua,...
, Zapteryx exasperata (JordanDavid Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist , educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University....
& Gilbert, 1880)
- Zapteryx xyster Jordan
David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist , educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University....
& Evermann, 1896
Further reading