Guitarfish

Guitarfish
Temporal range: Upper Jurassic–Recent

[1]

Shovelnose guitarfish, Rhinobatos productus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Rajiformes
Family: Rhinobatidae
J. P. Müller & Henle, 1837
Genera

See text.

The guitarfish are a family, Rhinobatidae, of 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 schools.

Description

Guitarfish have a body form intermediate between those of sharks and rays. The tail has a typical shark-like form, but in many species, the head has a triangular, or guitar-like shape, rather than the disc-shape formed by fusion with the pectoral fins found in other rays.[2]

Reproduction

Guitarfish are ovoviviparous; the embryo matures inside an egg inside the mother until it is ready to hatch. This is typical of rays.

Habitat

Guitarfish are bottom feeders, which bury themselves in mud or sand and eat worms, crabs, and clams.[3] Most can tolerate salt, fresh, and brackish water.[4] They generally live close to the beach/coastline or in estuaries as far underwater as 30 m.[4]

Classification

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhinobatidae.

Nelson's 2006 Fishes of the World recognized four genera in this family: Aptychotrema, Rhinobatos, Trygonorrhina, and Zapteryx; other taxa once placed in the Rhinobatidae, such as Platyrhinoidis and Rhina, have since been moved to their own families. Recently, the genus Glaucostegus has again become recognized as distinct from Rhinobatos. The status of Tarsistes is dubious.

References

Wikispecies has information related to: Rhinobatidae
  1. ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Rhinobatidae" in FishBase. February 2011 version.
  2. ↑ Stevens, J.; Last, P.R. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N., eds. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 66. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
  3. ↑ "Shovelnose guitarfish, Sandy Seafloor, Fishes, Rhinobatos productus at the Monterey Bay Aquarium". Monterey Bay Aquarium. Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 Sullivan, Taylor. "FLMNH Ichthyology Department: Atlantic Guitarfish". Florida Museum of Natural History. Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 Last, White & Fahmi 2006 (2006). "Rhinobatos jimbaranensis and R. penggali, two new shovelnose rays (Batoidea: Rhinobatidae) from eastern Indonesia.". Cybium. 30 (3): 262ff.
  6. ↑ Peter R. Last; Leonard J.V. Compagno; Kazuhiro Nakaya (2004). "Rhinobatos nudidorsalis, a new species of shovelnose ray (Batoidea: Rhinobatidae) from the Mascarene Ridge, central Indian Ocean". Ichthyological Research. 51 (2): 153–158. doi:10.1007/s10228-004-0211-0.
  7. 1 2 Last, P.R., Ho, H.-C. & Chen, R.-R. (2013): A new species of wedgefish, Rhynchobatus immaculatus (Chondrichthyes, Rhynchobatidae), from Taiwan. Pp. 185-198 in: de Carvalho, M.R., Ebert, D.A., Ho, H.-C. & White, W.T. (eds.) : Systematics and biodiversity of sharks, rays, and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of Taiwan. Zootaxa, 3752 (1): 1–386.
  8. ↑ Compagno, L.J.V. & Marshall, A.D. (2006). "Rhynchobatus sp. nov. A". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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