Rhynchobatus

Rhynchobatus
Temporal range: Lower Eocene–Recent[1]
Giant guitarfish (R. djiddensis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Rhinopristiformes
Family: Rhinidae
Genus: Rhynchobatus
Type species
Rhinobatus laevis
Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801

Rhynchobatus is a group of rays commonly known as wedgefishes in the family Rhinidae. They are found in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific with a single species (R. luebberti) in the eastern Atlantic. All species in this genus are assessed as Vulnerable or Endangered by IUCN.

The species are superficially similar and have often been confused. The various species can generally be separated by a combination of snout shape, vertebral count and exact colour (distribution of white spots, and presence/absence of a black spot at the base of the pectoral fin).[2] The largest species can reach about 3 m (10 ft) and are among the largest species of rajiforms, but the smallest reach less than one-third of that size.[3]

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:[4] In the past all the Indo-Pacific species have been confused with R. djiddensis, which as presently defined is restricted to the western Indian Ocean.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera (Chondrichthyes entry)". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  2. 1 2 3 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.
  3. 1 2 Last, Kyne & Compagno (2016). A new species of wedgefish Rhynchobatus cooki (Rhinopristiformes, Rhinidae) from the Indo-West Pacific. Zootaxa 4139(2): 233-247. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4139.2.7
  4. ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2017). Species of Rhynchobatus in FishBase. July 2017 version.


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