Rhynchobatus australiae
Encyclopedia
Rhynchobatus australiae, also called the white-spotted guitarfish or white-spotted wedgefish, is a species of fish
in the Rhynchobatidae family. It is found in Australia
, Indonesia
, the Philippines
, and Thailand
. Its natural habitat
s are open sea
s and shallow seas. It is part of a species complex
that also includes the giant guitarfish
, the broadnose wedgefish
and possibly the smoothnose wedgefish
.
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate 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...
in the Rhynchobatidae family. It is found in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are open sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
s and shallow seas. It is part of a species complex
Species complex
A species complex is a group of closely related species, where the exact demarcation between species is often unclear or cryptic owing to their recent and usually still incomplete reproductive isolation. Ring species, superspecies and cryptic species complex are example of species complex...
that also includes the giant guitarfish
Giant guitarfish
The giant guitarfish, Rhynchobatus djiddensis, is a species of guitarfish in the family Rhynchobatidae.-Taxonomy and range:The giant guitarfish was previously believed to range throughout a large part of the Indo-Pacific, but recent evidence has shown that it, as traditionally defined, actually was...
, the broadnose wedgefish
Broadnose wedgefish
The broadnose wedgefish is a species of fish in the Rhynchobatidae family. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are open seas, coral reefs, estuarine waters, and coastal saline lagoons. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:*...
and possibly the smoothnose wedgefish
Smoothnose wedgefish
The smoothnose wedgefish is a species of fish in the Rhynchobatidae family. It is found in Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is shallow seas. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* McAuley, R. & Compagno, L.J.V. 2003. . ...
.