Zapteryx exasperata
Silhouette: Eloisa Pinheiro Giareta · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The banded guitarfish, mottled guitarfish, prickly skate or striped guitarfish (Zapteryx exasperata) is a species of fish in the Trygonorrhinidae family. Originally Z. exasperata was placed in the Rhinobatidae family, however recent mitochondrial DNA analysis shows their placement into the new family of Trygonorrhinidae. They are found from shallow water to a depth of 200 m (660 ft) in the East Pacific from California, United States, to Mazatlan, Mexico, including the Gulf of California. The species has also been recorded further south (as far as Peru), but this likely involves its close relative, the southern banded guitarfish (Z. xyster).
Banded guitarfish have diamond-shaped bodies that, as their name suggests, resemble guitars. Their coloration is dark gray to sandy brown with characteristic black or dark brown banding along the back. They generally have large eyes with a short, rounded snout. The tail is thick from the base of the disc to its rounded caudal fin and is equal or shorter in length to its disc. Banded guitarfish have a rough textured skin caused by prickles or tiny spikes throughout the dorsal surface with a line of large spikes in the middle... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cabo Pulmo National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birch Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
No species of the same family or order lives in Cabo Pulmo National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other sharks & rays.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Guitarfish sighting in Cabo Pulmo National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 5 sharks and rays we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February to May
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Guitarfish in Cabo Pulmo National Park on a given day, against about 10% in November, the lowest month. Those are among Cabo Pulmo National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 120 mm in September. July has too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Banded Guitarfish sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Cabo Pulmo National Park, in our data
Cabo Pulmo National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Banded Guitarfish sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Banded Guitarfish is recorded against all the sharks and rays logged in Cabo Pulmo National Park (17 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
