Common shovelnose ray
species of fish

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.
The public source identifies “Common shovelnose ray” as species of fish. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Common, shovelnose and species.
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This entry incorporates text from “Common shovelnose ray” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.