Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) >
Rhinopristiformes (Shovelnose rays) >
Pristidae (Sawfishes)
Etymology: Pristis: Greek, pristis = saw (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: George Samuel Perrottet (1790–1870), also known as Georges Guerrard-Samuel Perrottet (and whose surname is sometimes given as Pérotet or Perrotet), was a Swiss-born French botanist and horticulturalist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on authors: Müller & Henle.
Issue
Synonym of Pristis pristis (Linnaeus, 1758) according to Faria et al., 2012 (Ref. 93006:11) and Weigmann, 2016 (Ref. 106604); status confirmed by William White (pers. Comm., Feb 2016).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 122 m (Ref. 55273), usually ? - 10 m (Ref. 55273). Tropical; 32°N - 19°S, 106°W - 15°E (Ref. 55273)
Northwest Atlantic: Texas, Florida. Northeast Atlantic: West Africa. Eastern and Western Central Pacific: off northern Australia. Indo-China: East Indies. South America: Amazon near Santárem, Brazil.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 300 - ? cm
Max length : 650 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6902); max. published weight: 591.0 kg (Ref. 6902)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Fewer sawteeth (normally 19, rarely 20 on a side). First dorsal fin originate in advance of the origin of the pelvic fins and much more deeply concave posterior margins of the dorsal fins. Saltwater species when fresh-caught, either dark gray or golden brown, while freshwater species are mouse gray with reddish along midback posterior to first dorsal fin, reddish posterior to lower part of sides, first dorsal pale yellow with reddish free rear corner; second dorsal, pelvic fins, caudal and lower sides posterior to first dorsal dull brick red. Reddish tint either normal or result of suffusion with blood below the skin (Ref. 6902).
Inhabits shallow water in the vicinity of the shore and estuarine, particularly lagoons. Generally thought to rarely descend below 10m but have been found at 122m in Lake Nicaragua (Ref. 55273). Tends to run farther upstream in large rivers. Found in temperatures higher than 20-30°C (Ref. 6902). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Minor commercial, for the curio trade (Ref. 37548).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Ovoviviparous, embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449).
Ferreira, E.J.G., J.A.S. Zuanon and G.M. dos Santos, 1998. Peixes comerciais do médio Amazonas. Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis. 211p. (Ref. 27548)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 26.1 - 28.5, mean 27.6 °C (based on 544 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5234 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00832 (0.00400 - 0.01728), b=3.00 (2.80 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.0 ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Generation time: 12.3 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
