Common Guitar Fish
The guitarfishes are another group that are intermediate in shape between rays and sharks. The head and front part of the body are flattened and arrow-shaped, with a pointed snout and wing-like pectoral fins, while the hind part looks sharklike. However, the mouth and gill slits are on the underside of the body, showing that they are rays. The common guitarfish of European and west African waters is a rather slow-moving, bottom-living fish that often half-buries itself in the sand or mud of the seabed, up to 100m (330ft) down. It is caught commercially in some parts of the Mediterranean. There are more than 40 other species worldwide.
Scientific name : Rhinobatos rhinobatos
Classification : Order Rhinobatiformes or Rhynchobatiformes (shovelnose guitarfishes);sometimes included in Rajiformes.
Family : Rhinobatidae
Size : Up to lm (3 1/4ft) long
Distribution : Eastern Atlantic; Mediterranean Habitat Shallow tropical and warm temperate waters, near coasts
Diet : Bottom-living fish and invertebrates
Reproduction : Ovoviviparous; one or two litters per year of 4-10 young