Common Name: Giant Guitarfish

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Ranges from New Caledonia and the Marianas Islands in the Pacific to the Red Sea and East Africa. In Australia recorded from Shark Bay in Western Australia, across the tropical north including the Gulf of Carpentaria, south through the Great Barrier Reef to northern New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents sandy areas adjacent to rocky and coral reef. Depth to 60 m.

Additional Notes: Uniform dark greyish body with two high and acutely pointed dorsal fins, three rows of spines on top of head in adults, and scattering of white spots on body. Feeds on a variety of benthic crustaceans and molluscs. Grows to 3 m and over 225 kg in weight.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.27.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Rhynchobatus-australiae.html. Accessed 01/10/2018.