Common Sawshark (Pristiophorus cirratus). Illustration: R. Aidan Martin
Sawsharks resemble sawfish, with a long, toothy, sword-like snout to find and slash their prey. They have long nasal barbels, or mustache-like appendages, extending from the middle of the long snout. The barbels are very sensitive, The Sawshark's barbels, together with electro-receptors (ampullae of Lorenzini) on the underside of the saw, are used to sense prey buried in the sand. Sawsharks use the saw to uncover and disable the prey, which they then take into their small mouths.
Characteristics of Sawsharks, Order Pristiophoriformes
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# of Species
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9
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Body shape
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Slightly flattened, long and slender. Grows to 5 feet.
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Mouth position
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Long, blade-like, toothy snout; small, transverse mouth
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Anal fin
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No
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Dorsal Fin
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2
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Fin spines
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No
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# of Gill slits
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5 (Sixgill Sawshark has 6 gills)
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Reproduction
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Ovoviviparous. Between 7 and 17 pups per litter.
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Unique qualities
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Long snout; long nasal barbels
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Habitat
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Marine habitats, although temperate species inhabit estuaries and shallow bays; Range from temperate to tropical zones: western Atlantic (Florida, Bahamas, and Cuba), the southwestern Indian Ocean (off South Africa), and the western Pacific (from southern Australia and Japan)
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Food
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small fish, crustaceans, squid
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The 9 species of Sawshark
Red indicates inclusion on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.
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Family Pristiophoridae - Saw Sharks
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Species
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Common name
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Genus Pliotrema
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Pliotrema warreni
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Sixgill Sawshark
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Genus Pristiophorus
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Pristiophorus cirratus
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Longnose Sawshark |
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Pristiophorus japonicus
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Japanese Sawshark
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Pristiophorus nudipinnis
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Shortnose Sawshark
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Pristiophorus schroederi
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Bahamas Sawshark
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Pristiophorus sp. A
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Eastern Sawshark
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Pristiophorus sp. B
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Tropical Sawshark
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Pristiophorus sp.
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Philippine Sawshark
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Pristiophorus sp.
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Dwarf Sawshark (western Indian Ocean) |
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