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  • Largetooth Sawfish
Fish

Largetooth Sawfish

Scientific Name

Pristis pristis

Body Weight

Up to 600 kg

Body Length

Up to 6.5 m

Sawfish and diver size comparison
Sawfish with its saw-like snout resting on a sandy seabed.

Habitat

Coastal and estuarine waters in tropical and subtropical regions. They can swim into rivers to breed so their juveniles live in freshwater environment.
Blue underwater scene with a slope and small dark dots.
River flowing through mountains

Diet

Fish, as well as small amounts of crustaceans and other shellfish
Fish, scallop, squid, and shrimp.

Fun Facts

  • The sawfish species in today’s world appeared in the ocean around 56 million years ago.

  • Largetooth sawfish have 14 to 23 rostral teeth on each side of their long, flat rostrum. Males usually have 2 more on each side. These teeth are in fact denticles. Like 2 rows of spears, they are used for stunning or killing prey.

    • Dark sawfish on a sandy aquarium floor.
    A sawfish rests on a rocky bottom in an aquarium, with other fish and plants in the background.

    Distribution

    Coastal waters of the Indian Ocean, Southern Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, including the waters of countries such as Australia, the Philippines, Senegal and Brazil

    Threats & Conservation

    Threats & Conservation

    Threats

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      Urbanisation & Infrastructure

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      Overexploitation of Biological Resources

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      Human Disturbance & Ecosystem Disruption

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      Pollution

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      Climate Change

    Largetooth sawfish is approaching extinction due to fishing and habitat loss. People consume their fins as “shark” fins, livers for oil, skins for making leather, eggs and bile as traditional medicine, and rostra as curios. With their long, toothed snouts, they are very susceptible to entanglement in fishing nets, including those discarded in the sea. Though no longer targeted, sawfish are still threatened by bycatch, illegal fishing and recreational fishing. Apart from this, their estuarine and freshwater habitats are modified or destroyed by human activities such as agriculture, dredging, mining and alterations in water flow. The sawfish population has become depleted or even extirpated in many regions throughout its range.

    Conservation

    IUCN Red List graphic showing conservation statuses: Critically Endangered, with categories EW, CR, EN, VU, NT, LC, DD.
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    IUCN Red List

    • Critically Endangered

    CITES

    • Appendix I

    Conservation

    • Protected under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586) in Hong Kong.

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