Family PristidaeThe SawfishGreek pristis = saw Sara McCutcheon

General Characteristics

• Large toothed rostrum

• Body shark-like

• 2 distinct dorsal fins and caudal fin

• Pectoral fins distinct

• Depressed head

Sawfish vs SawsharkEye

Sawfish vs SawsharkRostrum teeth

Sawfish vs SawsharkGill Position

Sawfish Taxonomy 7 species in 2 Genera

• Pristis pristis – Common sawfish

• Pristis perotteti – Largetooth sawfish

• Pristis microdon – Freshwater sawfish

• Pristis pectinata – Smalltooth sawfish*

• Pristis clavata – Dwarf sawfish

• Pristis zijsron – Green sawfish

• Anoxypristis cuspidata – Knifetooth sawfish

Taxonomy7 species in 2 Genera

Anoxypristis cuspidata (1 sp.)

Pristis pristis complex (3 spp.) Pristis pectinata complex (3 spp.)

3 Types of SawfishPristis pectinata complex• Non-tapering rostrum• Smaller teeth• 22-32 teeth per side

Pristis pristis complex • Broad tapering rostrum • Larger teeth • 15-20 teeth per side

Anoxypristis cuspidata• Very narrow saw • No teeth on the closest quarter of

rostrum to head• 16-29 teeth per side• More flattened and triangular teeth

Habitat

• Benthic• Freshwater,

brackish, and marine

• Nearshore waters

• Bays, lagoons, rivers, lakes, estuaries, seagrass, and reefs

• Sandy and muddy substrate

Distribution

• Nearshore waters

• Tropical, subtropical and warm temperate

• Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific

Biology

• Conicospiral intestines and long pyloric stomachs

• 3 reported instances of intestinal eversion (first non-carcharhinid)

• Juveniles prefer a depth of 10m or less; adults deeper water

• Some species use freshwater nurseries for ~4-5 years

• Immature up to 280cm• Max size 760 cm TL – P. pectinata (350kg)• Max recorded weight 600kg – P. microdon • Max age 30 years

Reproductive Biology

• Sexual maturity is reached at 10-11 feet for males and 11-12 feet for females

• Ovoviviparous • Gestation of ~ 5 months• Litter every other year• 6-23 pups• Pupping occurs in spring (wet season)• Born at 2 feet long• Born backwards, saw encased in a sheath of

tissue, and teeth do not fully erupt until after birth

Diet• The saw is used to catch, kill, and

manipulate food 

• Swipe the saw, stunning or impaling fish

• Small sawfish – crustaceans and fish

• Large sawfish – fish (jacks, mullet, ladyfish)

ThreatsFishing and Habitat Loss and degradation

Fisheries

• In the late 1800s a fisherman on the Indian River in Florida reported that he caught more than 300 sawfish in one season

Fisheries

• Recreational fisheries for saw trophy

• Commercial fisheries bycatch, saw entanglement

Fisheries

• Chinese medicine – eggs, liver, oil, bile

• Food• Shark fin soup• Decoration• Leather• Curio trade• Saw for spiritual

offerings

Habitat Loss and Degradation

• Extensive coastal development

• Dredging

• Mangrove removal

• Seawall construction

• Alteration of freshwater flow

• Habitat fragmentation

Status

• All 7 sawfish species are critically endangered• P. pectinata – apparently extinct in the

Mediterranean and NE Atlantic• P. perotteti – extirpated from most of its range in

Atlantic• P. pristis – was once common in the

Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic, but has now been extirpated from Europe and the Mediterranean– Likely to become extinct

Conservation Efforts

• Federally (ESA) and internationally (IUCN) protected

• Research • Public education and

outreach • Public sightings

database• Captain’s logbooks

Bibliography• Adams, W.F., Fowler, S.L., Charvet-Almeida, P., Faria, V., Soto, J. & Furtado, M. 2006. Pristis pectinata. In: IUCN

2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 05 November 2007.• Carrier, J.C., Musick, J.A., and Heithaus, M.R.. 2004. Biology of Sharks and their Relatives. CRC Press, Boca

Raton, FL. pp 142, 416, 427.• Charvet-Almeida, P., Faria, V., Furtado, M., Cook, S.F., Compagno L.J.V. & Oetinger, M.I. 2007. Pristis perotteti.

In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 05 November 2007.

• Compagno, L.J.V., Cook, S.F., Oetinger, M.I. & Fowler, S.L. 2006. Anoxypristis cuspidata. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 05 November 2007.

• Cook, S.F., Compagno, L.J.V. & Last, P.R. 2006. Pristis clavata. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 05 November 2007.

• Deynat, PP. 2005. New data on the systematics and interrelationships of sawfishes (Elasmobranchii, Batoidea, Pristiformes). Journal of Fish Biology 66 (5):1447-1458.

• Florida Museum of Natural History – Icthyology. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/DwarfSawfish/DwarfSawfish.html. Viewed on 11/06/07.

• Henningsen, AD, Whitaker, BR, and Walker, ID. 2005. Protrusion of the valvular intestine in captive smalltooth sawfish and comments on pristid gastrointestinal anatomy and intestinal valve types. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health 17 (3): 289-295.

• Mote Marine Laboratories. www.mote.org. Viewed on 11/06/07.• Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World, 4th ed. John Wiley and Sons, Inc, NJ. pp 69, 73.• Peverell, SC. 2005. Distribution of sawfishes (Pristidae) in the Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, with

notes on sawfish ecology. Environmental Biology of Fishes 73 (4): 391-402.• Robillard M. and Seret, B. 2006. Cultural importance and decline of sawfish (Pristidae) populations in West Africa.

Cybium 30 (4): 23-30.• Thorburn, DC, Morgan, DL, Rowland, AJ, and Gill, HS. 2007. Freshwater sawfish Pristis microdon Latham, 1794

(Chondrichthyes : Pristidae) in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Zootaxa 1471: 27-41.

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