Sawfish
Name
Sawfish (Pristidae).
Size
Sawfish can be up to 7m long.
Identification
Sawfish have long, flat rostrums which look like saws. Their bodies are similar in appearance to that of a shark, and their heads are flat. The pectoral fins are large and wide. They are light grey to brown in colour with white undersides.
General Info
Sawfish are a part of the Pristidae family which comprises of one genus and four species. Their teeth are the same size and they do not have barbels like the sawshark. The sawfish has ventral gills and hunts at night. They are ovoviviparous and the young are fully mature when born, their rostrum beaks covered by a rubbery pocket to protect the mother during birth. Litters contain three to five pups. Sawfish are critically endangered creatures.
Diet
Sawfish feed on molluscs and other benthic invertebrates, using their rostrum to dig out their food.
Distribution
Sawfish are found near reefs and estuaries, and live in fresh water as well as sea water. They occur in all temperate and tropical oceans across the world.
Common Species
Dwarf sawfish (Pristis clavata)
Knifetooth sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata)
Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata)
