280 Shark and Company 



4 



A Guitarfish {Rhinobatus lentiginosus). Bottom view, bottom; top view, top. 



Courtesy, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology 



typical of the 30-odd known species of Guitarfish found in the coastal 

 waters of most warm seas in the world. It is one of the commonest 

 Guitarfishes found in the Atlantic, though so sparse is information about 

 it that its full adult size is not known. It may grow to several feet in 

 length, but the largest recorded specimen was 30 inches long. It ranges 

 western Atlantic coastal waters from Yucatan to Cape Lookout, North 

 Carolina. Another Atlantic species, the Southern Guitarfish {Rhifiobatos 

 percelle?is Walbaum, 1792), which closely resembles R. lentiginosus, 

 is found from northern Argentina to the Caribbean, and has also been 

 reported off tropical West Africa. A third Atlantic species (Zapteryx 

 brevirostris Miiller and Henle, 1841) which has been taken in Brazilian 

 coastal waters, is noteworthy because its body is heart-shaped. 



The commonest Pacific Coast Guitarfish is the Shovel-Nose guitar- 

 fish (Rhinobatos productus Girard, 1855), which is known to grow 

 to about 4 feet in length. It is found from central California south to 

 and into the Gulf of California. 



Guitarfishes are found in the tropical and warm-temperate coastal 

 waters of all oceans. They have also been reportedly found in fresh 

 waters in Australia, though details are lacking on these incursions from 

 the sea. The largest Guitarfish on record (Rhynchobatus djiddensis 

 Forskal, 1775) is found in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. It has 

 been reported to reach 10 feet in length and 500 pounds in weight. 

 Many Guitarfish grow to a maximum size of 5 or 6 feet. 



Like the rays, the Guitarfish are ovoviviparous; unlike the rays, the 



