No photo available
Giant guitarfish
Rhynchobatus djiddensis
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Giant guitarfish
- Scientific
- Rhynchobatus djiddensis
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Rays
- Family
- Rhinidae (wedgefishes)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 3.1 m (total length); max. published weight 227 kg
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 75 m; also enters brackish water
- IUCN status
- CR · Critically EndangeredCritically Endangered (CR), assessed 2018CITES Appendix II
Description
A large, shark-like ray with a pointed snout, olive-green back covered in rows of small white spots, a black spot at each pectoral fin base and a black cross between the eyes. It lives in shallow coastal waters and estuaries and feeds on crabs, lobsters, shellfish and small fish. It is Critically Endangered because its large fins are highly valued in trade.
In the Maldives
All rays are protected in the Maldives (since 2014).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Rhynchobatus-djiddensis.html
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Rhynchobatus_djiddensis_durban.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.