guitarfish

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vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.

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Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

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guitarfish

fish

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Florida Museum of Natural History - Atlantic Guitarfish

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Also known as: Rhinobatiformes, banjo shark, fiddler ray

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shovelnose guitarfish

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Category: Animals & Nature

Also called:: Fiddler Ray, or Banjo Shark

Related Topics:: Rhynchobatidae; Rhinobatidae; elasmobranch

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guitarfish, an order (Rhinobatiformes) of fish closely related to the rays. The order contains some 47 to 50 species arranged in three families (Platyrhinidae, Rhinobatidae, and Rhynchobatidae).

Guitarfish have a flattened forebody with pectoral fins fused to the sides of the head. The hindbody resembles that of a shark, with two dorsal fins and a well-developed caudal fin. Guitarfish range in size up to about 2 metres (6 feet) in length. They inhabit tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide, generally preferring the shallows where they swim slowly and feed on small fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, and the like. Reproduction is ovoviviparous.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.