| |
|
|
| |
| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
|
| COMMON
NAME: |
sawfish |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Chondrichthyes |
| ORDER: |
Pristiformes |
| FAMILY: |
Pristidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
No
data |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| DESCRIPTION: |
These
animals have a flattened extension of their upper
jaw, which can be longer than 2 m (6.5 ft.) and
more than 30 cm (12 in.) broad. This snout or rostrum
is lined with a row of sharp teeth on each side. |
| MALE |
External
claspers located on the far underside of the body
- forward of the caudal fin - distinguish males. |
|
| SIZE: |
In
rare instances, sawfish can reach a size up to 6
m (20 ft.) |
|
|
|
| DIET: |
Schooling
fish and bottom-dwelling, aquatic invertebrates |
|
| GESTATION: |
Ovoviviparous
("egg live birth") |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
No
data |
| PLANKTONIC
DURATION |
No
data |
|
|
|
|
|
| RANGE: |
Sawfish
are commonly found in tropical seas and in estuary
mouths. The smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata)
is found in tropical Atlantic waters while other
species inhabit the Indo-Pacific region. The freshwater
sawfish (Pristis microdon) also inhabits
freshwater rivers and waters around Australia. |
|
| HABITAT: |
In
shallow waters and adjacent estuaries or freshwater
rivers or lakes |
|
| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
|
| STATUS: |
IUCN |
5
species listed as Endangered,
2 species as Critically Endangered |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| 1. |
Sawfishes
are a group of about 6 species of carnivorous fishes
found in the superorder Batoidea. Sawfishes are
in the same superorder as rays, skates, and guitarfishes,
and in the same class (Chondrichthyes) that also
includes sharks and chimaeras. Chondrichthian animals
have a skeleton made of cartilage instead of bone. |
|
|
| 2. |
Sawfishes can be confused with saw sharks (order
Pristiophoriformes), but there are some recognizable
differences between them. Sawfishes have 5 pairs
of gill slits located on the ventral side of their
bodies while saw sharks have gill slits on their
sides. Saw sharks also have rostrum teeth alternating
in size from large to small, and long, fingerlike
barbels hang from their rostrums. Sawfishes have
no hanging barbels and their snout teeth are generally
uniform in size. |
|
|
| 3. |
The tooth-lined rostrum of the sawfish can function
as a defensive weapon, but it is mostly used to
gather food. The sawfish may swing its rostrum back
and forth while swimming through a school of fish,
stunning them. The mouth of a sawfish is under its
body - this positioning allows the animal to eat
injured fish that sink to the bottom. Sawfish have
also been seen using their snout teeth to root in
sediment in search of invertebrates. |
|
|
| 4. |
For
more information about sharks & rays, explore
the sharks
& rays info book. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| Smalltooth
sawfish are generally regarded as gentle and harmless
to humans, but they have been known to cause serious
injuries if trapped by fishing hooks or nets. Sometimes
fishermen consider these animals a nuisance. Sawfish
may damage their nets to get to the captured fish
inside them. Sawfish are killed for their tooth-lined
snouts, which are sold as souvenirs, although the
smalltooth sawfish is fully protected by law in
the United States. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Wheeler, A. Fishes of the World. New York.
MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1975.
|
| |
|
http://www.fishbase.org/ |
| |
|
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/organizations/ssg/ssg.htm
(IUCN Shark Specialist Group)
|
|
|
|
|
|
