Rhynchobatus

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.

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

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]

  • Rhynchobatus australiae Whitley, 1939 (White-spotted wedgefish)
  • Rhynchobatus djiddensis (Forsskål, 1775) (Giant guitarfish)
  • Rhynchobatus cooki Last, Kyne & Compagno, 2016 (Roughnose wedgefish)[3]
  • Rhynchobatus immaculatus Last, H. C. Ho & R. R. Chen, 2013 (Taiwanese wedgefish)[2]
  • Rhynchobatus laevis (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Smoothnose wedgefish)
  • Rhynchobatus luebberti Ehrenbaum, 1915 (African wedgefish)
  • Rhynchobatus palpebratus Compagno & Last, 2008 (Eyebrow wedgefish)
  • Rhynchobatus springeri Compagno & Last, 2010 (Broadnose wedgefish)

See also
  • List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish

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. 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. 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 Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Rhynchobatus in FishBase. July 2017 version.


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