Bottlenose Wedgefish
Rhynchobatus australiae
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Rhinopristiformes
- Family
- Rhinidae
- Genus
- Rhynchobatus
- Species
- Rhynchobatus australiae
The bottlenose wedgefish (Rhynchobatus australiae), often called a guitar shark or shark ray, is a ray with a shark-like body and a pointed, wedge-shaped head. It has white spots on its back and a dark spot at the base of each pectoral fin.
It can grow to about 3 m and feeds on crabs, shrimps, squid and bottom fish. It is classed as Critically Endangered, largely because its fins are highly valued.
In the Philippines it is occasionally seen resting on sandy bottoms, and any sighting is special.
Photo: Hugo Innes, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist