Rhynchobatus australiae

Rhynchobatus australiae, also called the white-spotted guitarfish, white-spotted wedgefish or bottlenose wedgefish, is a species of fish in the Rhinidae family.[1] It is found from shallow waters to a depth of at least 60 m (200 ft) in the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the East African coast and the Red Sea, to Taiwan, the Philippines and Australia.[2] It is part of a species complex that also includes the giant guitarfish, the broadnose wedgefish and possibly the smoothnose wedgefish.

Rhynchobatus australiae
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Order:	Rhinopristiformes
Family:	Rhinidae
Genus:	Rhynchobatus
Species:	R. australiae
Binomial name
Rhynchobatus australiae Whitley, 1939

R. australiae reaches about 3 m (10 ft) in length.[2] Juveniles and young adults are greyish or brownish above with a sparse covering of white spots and a black spot above each pectoral fin. There are three white spots above each black spot. Large adults are considerably darker, sometimes appearing almost black above, and the spots seen is younger individuals are typically not easily visible.[2]