Giant Guitarfish
Glaucostegus typus
The common shovelnose ray, giant shovelnose ray or giant guitarfish (Glaucostegus typus) is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family found in the central Indo-Pacific, ranging from India to the East China Sea, Solomon Islands and northern Australia. It is found in shallow coastal areas to a depth of at least 100 m (330 ft), including mangrove, estuaries and reportedly also in freshwaters. It reaches up to 2.7 m (8.9 ft) in length, and is greyish-brown to yellowish-brown above with a paler snout. This species has been tested for colour vision using choice experiments that control for brightness. It was the first rigorous behavioural evidence for colour vision in any elasmobranch. Wikipedia →
20–30% of wildlife watchers report a Giant Guitarfish sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park, based on 12 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
📅 Monthly Probability
🕐 When They’re Spotted
Sightings of Giant Guitarfish are recorded here, but fewer than 5 of them carry a time of day in GBIF — sighting probability uses whole days, so it is unaffected. The hourly pattern needs timestamps we don't have yet.
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Giant Guitarfish in Ningaloo Marine Park?
About 23% of wildlife watchers report a Giant Guitarfish sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park, based on 12 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Giant Guitarfish in Ningaloo Marine Park?
December has the highest sighting rate for Giant Guitarfish in Ningaloo Marine Park in our monthly data.