Shark or a Ray? It’s Neither!

Appearing as the perfect combination of shark and ray, guitarfish represent their own family of cartilaginous fish, displaying characteristics reminiscent of both. They are famous for their elongated, flattened bodies, ray-like wings, and two dorsal fins on their tails, taking on the shape of a guitar, giving them their common name. Also known as banjo sharks or fiddler rays, there are roughly 50 distinct species covering three different genera.

Diving with guitarfish is fairly common as they are abundant in numbers and widely distributed throughout tropical and warm temperate ocean waters worldwide. They are easily encountered by divers and snorkelers as they prefer shallow waters where they swim slowly along the bottom, feeding on small fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. They do like to burry themselves in the muddy or sandy seafloor, making them difficult to spot at times, so keep your eyes wide open while looking for them. Explore the map below for the most popular dive sites where they have been encountered around the world.