Hot Days and No Escape at the Beach

Angler with Shovelnose Guitarfish, Rhinobatos productus, at the Ferry Landing at Coronado. It was HOT yesterday, over 100 degrees in many places. Normally, when it gets hot in San Diego, you can escape to the coast to bask in the cooling ocean breezes. However, even the coast was heatstroke hot, with only the slightest of breezes, making the airconditioned malls and larger stores really popular places to be!

On a side note, Guitarfish, while ray-like in form, are in their own family. They largely feed on crustaceans and other invertebrates as well as carrion (dead fish, etc.) that can be foraged out of the sand. The Shovelnose Guitarfish is found from central California clear down to the Sea of Cortez. They apparently have magnetic particules in receptors in their head (the vestibular receptors); it is not known if these particles assist in detecting prey or are for more general orientation purposes.