This rare species occurs widely in the tropical coastal waters of the western Indo-Pacific, at depths of up to 90 m (300 ft).

Highly distinctive in appearance, Rhina ancylostoma has a wide and thick body with a rounded snout and large shark-like dorsal and tail fins.

It has a dorsal color pattern of many white spots over a bluish gray to brown background, with a pair of prominent black markings over the pectoral fins.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed Rhina ancylostoma as Critically Endangered because it is widely caught by artisanal and commercial fisheries for its valuable fins and meat.

German naturalists Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Schneider described Rhina ancylostoma in their 1801 Systema Ichthyologiae.

Morphological evidence generally points to a close relationship between Rhina, Rhynchobatus and Rhynchorhina, which are a group of rays known as the wedgefishes that also have large, shark-like fins.

[8][9][10] A 2012 study based on mitochondrial DNA upheld Rhina and Rhynchobatus as sister taxa related to the guitarfishes, but also unexpectedly found that they formed a clade with the sawfishes rather than the skates.

[9][14] Joseph Nelson, in the 2006 fourth edition of Fishes of the World, placed this species as the sole member of Rhinidae in the order Rajiformes, which is supported by morphological but not molecular data.

[12][16] Rhina ancylostoma is a heavily built fish growing to 2.7 m (8.9 ft) long and 135 kg (298 lb) in weight.

[3][17] There are around 47 upper and 50 lower tooth rows arranged in winding bands; the teeth are low and blunt with ridges on the crown.

Its Pacific range extends northward to Korea and southern Japan, eastward to New Guinea, and southward to New South Wales.

[20] This species feeds mainly on demersal bony fishes such as croakers and crustaceans such as crabs and shrimp; bivalves and cephalopods are also consumed.

[14][21] Curiously, two Rhina ancylostoma examined in a 2011 stable isotope study were found to have fed on pelagic rather than demersal animals, in contrast to previous observations.

[7] Parasites documented from this species include the tapeworms Carpobothrium rhinei,[24] Dollfusiella michiae,[25] Nybelinia southwelli,[26] Stoibocephalum arafurense,[27] and Tylocephalum carnpanulatum,[28] the leech Pontobdella macrothela,[29] the trematode Melogonimus rhodanometra,[30] the monogeneans Branchotenthes robinoverstreeti[31] and Monocotyle ancylostomae,[32] and the copepods Nesippus vespa,[33] Pandarus cranchii, and P.

[3][21] Throughout its range, the bowmouth guitarfish is caught incidentally or intentionally by artisanal and commercial fisheries using trawls, gillnets, and line gear.

[7][21] When caught as bycatch in trawls, Rhina ancylostoma is considered a nuisance because its strength and rough skin make it difficult to handle, and as the heavy ray thrashes in the net it can damage the rest of the catch.

[38] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed Rhina ancylostoma as critically endangered in 2019, delisted from the vulnerable category, along with many other guitarfish species.

[43] Newport Aquarium later announced that the pups would be moved into a coral reef exhibit where they can be viewed by the public starting on June 24.