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Animal profile

Common Guitarfish

Rhinobatos rhinobatos

ChondrichthyesSandy and muddy bottoms in shallow coastal waters, usually less than 100 metres deepCritically Endangered

Field profile

The common guitarfish has a wedge-shaped head that grades into a shark-like body and tail. It lies partly buried on sand, feeds on crustaceans and small fishes, and has declined sharply in the Mediterranean under trawl and gillnet pressure.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2026-02-03

Common Guitarfish

Guitarfish are rays wearing a shark's outline

The shark-shaped body misleads, but the anatomy does not: the gill slits open on the underside and the pectoral fins fuse to the head. Guitarfish sit in the same order as the sawfishes, their closest living relatives.

Read with evidence →

Common Guitarfish | Daily Animal Facts