Banded guitarfish skull (Zapteryx exasperata). They breed in huge colonies

They breed in huge colonies with a density of up to 20 pairs on one square metre of rock

The model appears to have been made of a plater like substance

These are long lived birds with a life span of over 55 years although many of the juvenile die in their first long migration

particularly in the UK

Banded guitarfish skull (Zapteryx exasperata). They breed in huge coloniesThis is a beautifully prepared and mounted skull of a banded guitarfish Zapteryx exasperata. The banded guitarfish is an elasmobranch related to the rays although the body shape is half way between rays and typical shark form. Their diet is animals living in the sand and mud such as crabs and shellfish. As you can see on the jaws of this skull, the teeth are flattened for crushing hard shells. This skull has come from a specimen that was caught for