South African Elasmobranch Monitoring

In some regions they are referred to as sandsharks and at first sight they look very similar to shark, but in fact Guitarfishes and their relatives (Rhinobatiformes) are Rays. They are divided into three separate families: Guitarfishes (Rhinobatidae), Wedgefishes (Rhynchobatidae) and Sharkrays (Rhinidae). For the untrained eye it is not always easy to tell them apart. Wedgefishes and Sharkrays prefer tropical waters and their South African distribution is limited to KwaZulu N