Giant Shovelnose Ray, Glaucostegus typus (Bennett, 1830)

Scientific name: Glaucostegus typus
Alternative name/s:
Common Shovelnosed Ray, Great Northern Shovelnose
Giant Shovelnose Ray, Glaucostegus typus Click to enlarge image
A Giant Shovelnose Ray, Glaucostegus typus, at Sydney Aquarium, September 2011. Image: Krystof Tichy
© Sydney Aquarium

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Glaucostegus
    Species
    typus
    Family
    Rhinobatidae
    Order
    Rhinobatiformes
    Class
    Chondrichthyes
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    It grows to at least 2.7 m in length.

Introduction

The Giant Shovelnose Ray grows to 2.7 m in length and occurs in the Indo-Pacific region.

Identification

The species has a triangular snout, two large dorsal fins and a caudal fin that lacks a lower lobe. There are thorns and denticles along the dorsal midline

Giant Shovelnose Ray
A Giant Shovelnose Ray at a depth of 15m, Gold Coast Seaway, Queensland, 28 June 2014. Image: Ian Banks
© Ian Banks

Habitat

Juveniles occur in inshore mangrove and coral reef waters. Adults occur in deeper marine waters to depths of about 100 m.

Distribution

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Further reading

  1. Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
  2. Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Edition 2. CSIRO. Pp. 644, Pl. 1-91.