Common name: Brown guitarfish, Beaked guitar fish, Sand shark, Sand skate shark, Shovelnose, Yellow guitarfish, Guitarfish

Japanese name: Sakatazame (坂田鮫)

Taiwan common name: 飯匙鯊、魴仔、飯匙、湯匙

Scientific name: Rhinobatos schlegelii Müller and Henle,1841

Nigiri sushi detail: Brown guitarfish (Sakatazame) Nigiri sushi

Characteristics:

Brown guitarfish (Sakatazame) is distributed in southern Japan, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Arabian Sea. It inhabits sandy bottoms in nearshore waters. The total length is 1 meter. The dorsal surface is light brown and the pattern is indistinct. Although it is named “shark,” it is a member of the ray family.

Its flesh has a unique texture that is a combination of the elastic flesh of sharks and rays and the light, moist flesh of white fish such as Bartail flathead (Magochi). It has none of the ammonia smell that is said to be a drawback of sharks and rays. It is mainly used as sashimi or simmered. It is also used to make fish paste and shark fin soup.

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