Glaucostegus, also known as giant guitarfishes, is a genus of large Indo-Pacific rays, with a single species, Glaucostegus cemiculus, in the East Atlantic, and Mediterranean.[1] They were formerly classified in the family Rhinobatidae but are now recognized as a distinct family, Glaucostegidae.[2]

Glaucostegus
Giant guitarfish (G. typus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Rhinopristiformes
Family: Glaucostegidae
Last, Séret & Naylor, 2016
Genus: Glaucostegus
Bonaparte, 1846

Their upperparts are uniform pale yellowish, brownish or greyish, and the nose is pale. Most are large, reaching 1.7–3 m (5.6–9.8 ft) in length depending on the exact species involved, except for the small G. obtusus that is less than 1 m (3.3 ft).[1]

Species

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There are ten recognized species, all of which are classified as critically endangered:[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Last; White; de Carvalho; Séret; Stehmann; Naylor, eds. (2016). Rays of the World. CSIRO. pp. 110–116. ISBN 9780643109148.
  2. ^ a b Last, P.R.; Séret, B.; Naylor, G.J.P. (2016). "A new species of guitarfish, Rhinobatos borneensis sp. nov. with a redefinition of the family-level classification in the order Rhinopristiformes (Chondrichthyes: Batoidea)". Zootaxa. 4117 (4): 451–475. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4117.4.1. PMID 27395187.
  3. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Glaucostegus". FishBase. March 2024 version.