General: Guitarfish

2/17/2016

Shovelnose guitarfish. © Monterey Bay Aquarium

While the name "guitarfish," may lead you to think this animal is solely a fish, this isn't the case! The guitarfish are a family of rays (Rhinobatidae). These peculiar animals look like a mash up of shark and ray (a flattened body of a ray; distinct shark features). The range of the species in the Rhinobatidae family varies from tropical, subtropical and temperate waters, as they are pretty cosmopolitan. They can be found in fresh, brackish and marine environments, and also travel in schools, a ray-like characteristic.

In the Rajiformes order, the suborder Rhinobatiformes, there are 4 genera that have 45-46 species.

Aptychotrema: 4 species
Rhinobatos: 5 subgenera, 33-34 species (Subgenera: Rhinobatos: 10 Spp; Glaucostegus: 12-13 Spp.; Acroteriobatus: 7. Species: Scobatus: 2 species; Platypornax: 1 species)
Trygonorrhina: 2 species
Zapteryx: 3 species

These animals were first seen in upper Jurassic time period, with the “poster child” of guitarfish being the shovelnose guitarfish.

They are viviparous with yolk-sac, something that isn't unusual for rays (or for sharks, for that matter). Due to their physical structure, they are bottom feeders that tend to munch on worms, clams and crabs. Their IUCN status depends on the species.

did you know about guitarfish before?

glossary

Brackish water: Slightly salty, as is the mixture of river water and seawater in estuaries.
Cosmopolitan: Worldwide distribution.
Generas: Plural form of genus.
Genus: A group of organisms ranking above a species and below a family.
IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Viviparous with yolk-sac: Also known as aplacental viviparous and previously known as ovoviviparous/ovoviviparity; it is the production of eggs that are fertilised and hatch inside the female shark but the embryos lack a placental connection to the oviduct or uterus and so do not feed off the mother.