Rhynchobatus australiae
Silhouette: Lankester Edwin Ray (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Rhynchobatus australiae, also called the white-spotted guitarfish, white-spotted wedgefish or bottlenose wedgefish, is a species of fish in the Rhinidae family. It is found from shallow waters to a depth of at least 60 m (200 ft) in the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the East African coast and the Red Sea, to Taiwan, the Philippines and Australia. It is part of a species complex that also includes the giant guitarfish, the broadnose wedgefish and possibly the smoothnose wedgefish.
Rhynchobatus australiae reaches about 3 m (10 ft) in length. Juveniles and young adults are greyish or brownish above with a sparse covering of white spots and a black spot above each pectoral fin. There are three white spots above each black spot. Large adults are considerably darker, sometimes appearing almost black above, and the spots seen is younger individuals are typically not easily visible.
Its tail fin has distinct upper and lower lobes, unlike the fiddler and shovelnose rays, where the lower lobe is reduced. Its snout is acutely pointed, merging into the flat triangular pectoral fins. Gills are on the underside of the head. The first (anterior) dorsal fin is in line with... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lisbon Oceanarium | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 2 | Lisbon Zoo | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 3 | Zoo Atlanta | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Łódź Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | L'Oceanogràfic | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Mitchell Park Zoo | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Sea World Indonesia | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 8 | Marine Life Park | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 9 | Singapore Oceanarium | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 10 | Penghu Aquarium | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 11 | Bangkok Aquarium | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 12 | Bangsaen Aquarium | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 13 | Batu Secret Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 14 | Centro de Recuperação de Animais Silvestres | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 15 | Sea Life Grapevine | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | The Sixth Cycle Birthday Anniversary Celebration Aquarium | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Whitespotted Guitarfish sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 24 sharks and rays we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–March and September
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Whitespotted Guitarfish in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Whitespotted 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 Ningaloo Marine Park, in our data
Ningaloo Marine Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Whitespotted Guitarfish sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Whitespotted Guitarfish is recorded against all the sharks and rays logged in Ningaloo Marine Park (13 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.
