Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Common guitarfish (Rhinobatos rhinobatos), recorded as Critically Endangered
Common guitarfish (Rhinobatos rhinobatos). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Common guitarfish

Rhinobatos rhinobatos

Common guitarfish is a guitarfish in the family Rhinobatidae (order Rhinopristiformes) — Rhinobatos rhinobatos, recorded as Critically Endangered.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Rhinobatos rhinobatos
Taxonomy
Elasmobranchii · Rhinopristiformes · Rhinobatidae · Rhinobatos

Appearance

The dorsal surface is khaki-brown, and the underparts are white.

The common guitarfish can grow to about 147 cm (58 in), but a more normal length is about 80 cm (30 in).

Range and habitat

The common guitarfish is found in the North Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay to Angola and in the southern Mediterranean Sea. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Its lifestyle makes it vulnerable to trawling and other fishing methods, populations seem to be declining, despite its name, and it has disappeared from parts of its range.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet and breeding

The common guitarfish is a benthic fish, cruising just above the sandy or muddy seabed and foraging for crustaceans, other invertebrates and fish. It is an ovoviviparous fish with one or two litters of live young born yearly, each litter being four to ten fish.

In crisis

Common guitarfish is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Common guitarfish, Wikidata item Q3496840. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Brown guitarfish (Rhinobatos schlegelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Brown guitarfish

Rhinobatos schlegelii
Photograph of Ringstraked guitarfish (Rhinobatos hynnicephalus), recorded as EndangeredEN

Ringstraked guitarfish

Rhinobatos hynnicephalus
Photograph of Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
Photograph of Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus

Quick answers

What is Common guitarfish?
Common guitarfish is a guitarfish in the family Rhinobatidae (order Rhinopristiformes) — Rhinobatos rhinobatos.
What is the conservation status of Common guitarfish?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Rhinobatos rhinobatos. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Common guitarfish live?
The common guitarfish is found in the North Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay to Angola and in the southern Mediterranean Sea.
Why is Common guitarfish in crisis?
Its lifestyle makes it vulnerable to trawling and other fishing methods, populations seem to be declining, despite its name, and it has disappeared from parts of its range.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Rhinobatos rhinobatos?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Common guitarfish a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.