Species: Zapteryx xyster, Witch guitarfish

Zapteryx xyster Jordan & Evermann, 1896

Witch guitarfish

Body slender; head and adjoining pectoral fins forming a distinctly broad triangular structure; head relatively broad, snout short, relatively pointed, with two ridges running forwards from inner edges of eyes; a large spiracle behind each eye; a row of thorny projections along dorsal midline from behind eyes to origin of first dorsal fin; two large, triangular, equal-sized dorsal fins; tail fin asymetrical without distinct lower lobe.

Red-brown, heavily mottled with blackish blotches that tend to form cross bars; two pairs of yellow ocellated spots, one at mid-body, the other at the rear of the pectorals; belly uniform pale.

Size: reaches 91 cm.

Habitat: benthic on soft bottoms, sometimes adjacent to rocky reefs; common in bays.

Depth: 0-25 m.

SE Gulf of California to Peru.