Divefree

Ray

Giant Guitarfish

Rhynchobatus djiddensis

A large shark-like ray of KZN sand and reef, its guitar-shaped body marked with rows of white spots.

Also known as giant sandshark, sandshark, whitespotted guitarfish, whitespotted wedgefish

Giant Guitarfish
Photo: gracie_mertes_ · CC BY-NC 4.0
Typical size
Attains ~2.5 m
Habitat
Sand flats and reef margins
Depth
Shallows to ~50 m

The giant guitarfish, or whitespotted wedgefish, has a broad, flattened, wedge-shaped snout and forebody merging into a powerful shark-like tail, olive-brown above and scattered with small white spots and dark markings around the eyes. It is one of the region's largest rays and can grow to well over two metres.

It cruises over sand flats and reef edges along the KwaZulu-Natal coast, feeding on crabs, molluscs and small fish crushed by pavement-like teeth. Once heavily targeted for its valuable fins, it is now recognised as a globally threatened species, and released fish should be handled quickly and returned unharmed.