Sawfish Pictures |
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Sawfish Photos Showing This Large Ray with a Distinctive Saw-like Snout |
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Sawfish, pristis sp., are extremely large shark-like rays, related to both sharks and rays, that inhabit muddy shallows of tropical bays, rivers and lakes. Like sharks and rays, the sawfish has a cartilaginous skeleton and no swim bladder. Instead they rely on a huge yellow, oil-filled liver to give them buoyancy. Their common name comes from their distinctive saw-like snout, called a rostrum, which has protruding teeth-like denticle scales, and is covered with sensitive pores that detect movement and even buried prey on the ocean floor. The eyes of sawfish are undeveloped due to their muddy habitat. The rostrum is the main sensory device.
Sawfish eat only small fish and bottom-dwelling invertebrates, like crabs and shrimps. Sawfishes are nocturnal, spending much of the day in the muddy floor. At night, they slowly swim through the shallows, using their sensitive rostrum to find buried prey, which are then raked from the sediment. The sawfish attacks its prey with its saw until the prey is small enough to eat. The saw is also used to defend the sawfish against predators. Sawfish live to around 25 years and reach maturity at 10 years. The smallest sawfish, dwarf sawfish, Pristis clavata, is about four feet long. The largest species, largetooth sawfish, Pristis microdon and the southern sawfish, Pristis perotteti, reach more than 23 feet long. After many years of incidental capture, and habitat destruction, sawfish populations worldwide are severely depleted. They are hunted for their rostrum, their fins, their liver oil and for use as medicine. It is estimated that there are seven living species. Sawfish mature slowly and reproduce at a much lower rate than most fish. This makes sawfish especially slow to recover from overfishing. All species of sawfish are considered critically endangered and international trade is banned.
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Picture of a smalltooth sawfish or wide sawfish, Pristis pectinata, endangered, Everglades National Park, Florida Gulf of Mexico
Image #: 030311 |
Image of a narrowsnout sawfish, Pristis zijsron, showing mouth and nostrils.
Image #: 023936 |
Stock photo of a green sawfish, Pristis Zijsron, also called longcomb sawfish.
Image #: 026923 |
Photo of a smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, Bimini, Bahamas, Caribbean, Atlantic
Image #: 026560 |
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Picture of a smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, endangered
Image #: 005542 |
Image of a smalltooth sawfish or wide sawfish, Pristis pectinata, close-up, showing eye and spiracle, endangered, Everglades National Park, Florida Gulf of Mexico
Image #: 030304 |
Stock photo of a green sawfish, Pristis Zijsron, also called longcomb sawfish
Image #: 026955 |
Photo of a smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, endangered, Everglades National Park, Florida Gulf of Mexico
Image #: 030303 |
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Picture of a green sawfish, Pristis Zijsron
Image #: 091992 |
Image of a freshwater sawfish, Pristis microdon, also called broadbill sawfish
Image #: 026949 |
Stock photo of a sawfish, pristis pristis, dead sample of teeth, mouth mechanism
Image #: 099433 |
Photo of a green sawfish, Pristis Zijsron, also called longcomb sawfish
Image #: 026920 |
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Picture of a green sawfish, Pristis Zijsron, also called longcomb sawfish
Image #: 026921 |
Image of a smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata
Image #: 005544 |
Stock photo of a smalltooth sawfish or wide sawfish, Pristis pectinata, Everglades National Park, Florida Gulf of Mexico
Image #: 030305 |
Photo of a smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, preserved specimen, Amazon River Basin, Amazonas, Brazil
Image #: 086756 |
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Picture of a smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata
Image #: 039583 |
Image of a sawfish mouth detail, Pristis sp., photo taken in captivity
Image #: 079358 |
Stock photo of a smalltooth sawfish or wide sawfish, Pristis pectinata, Everglades National Park, Florida Gulf of Mexico
Image #: 030314 |
Photo of a smalltooth sawfish or wide sawfish, Pristis pectinata, Everglades National Park, Florida Gulf of Mexico
Image #: 030310 |
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