The false shark ray (''Rhynchorhina mauritaniensis'') is a species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the

Rhinidae Wedgefishes are rays of the family Rhinidae, comprising eleven species in three genera. Classified in the order Rhinopristiformes along with guitarfishes and sawfishes, they have also been known as giant guitarfishes or sharkfin guitarfishes. T ...

family and the only species in the genus ''Rhynchorhina''. This rare

ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

is only known from shallow coastal Atlantic waters in Banc d’Arguin,

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

. The upperparts of the false shark ray are greyish or greenish-brown and densely covered in white spots. The largest known reliably measured specimen was long, but individuals about have been seen. Overall it resembles the

African wedgefish The African wedgefish, guitarra, Lubbert's guitarfish, or spikenose wedgefish (''Rhynchobatus luebberti'') is a species of fish in the Rhinidae family. It is the only species in its genus to occur in the East Atlantic. Etymology The fish is name ...

(''Rhynchobatus luebberti'') found in the same region, but it has a blunt rounded snout somewhat like the

shark ray ''Rhina ancylostoma'', the bowmouth guitarfish, shark ray or mud skate, is a species of ray and a member of the family Rhinidae. Its evolutionary affinities are not fully resolved, though it may be related to true guitarfishes and skates. Thi ...

or bowmouth guitarfish (''Rhina ancylostoma'') of the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

. The genus name ''Rhynchorhina'' (Rhyncho+rhina) is a reference to this "mix" of features. Although long known by the local Imraguen people, the first record confirmed by scientists was in 1998 and it only received its

species description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

in 2016. Very little is known about the behavior of the false shark ray, but a female caught in February had ripe

ovocyte An oocyte (, ), oöcyte, or ovocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female ...

s and shrimp in the stomach, while another had moray eels in the stomach.

References

false shark ray Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of West Africa false shark ray {{Rajiformes-stub