Image by Tristan Guttridge. Thse are the Sixgilll, Longnose, Shortnose, Tropical, Japanese, and Lana’s Sawsharks. These whisker-like organs are used to feel the ocean floor for food. Sawfish like coastal waters. A goodsized sawfish can be as big as 7 meters. Using sudden lateral movements, Sawfish can use their saw to cut other fish in half! A sawshark, Pristiophorus nudipinnis resting on the substrate. This photo was taken by my dive buddy Rebecca Ross of Miami Dade DERM. These two groups of fish are widespread around the world. Both use their toothed saws as weapons to cut down and incapacitate prey with side-to-side movements. Sawfish and Sawsharks are actually distantly related. The ‘saws’ or elongated toothed rostra are the features that make these fish really quite unique. See the barbels? Where as in sharks they are located on the side … The size of fish is an easy indicator of species between these groups. The gills on a Sawshark are located on the sides, like on any other Shark. The Sawshark is indeed a shark, while the Sawfish is a ray - still a cartilaginous fish, but not a shark. There are eight species of sawsharks: sixgill sawshark, Pliotrema warreni; longnose sawshark, Pristiophorus cirratus; tropical sawshark, Pristiophorus delicatus; Japanese sawshark, Pristiophorus japonicus; southern sawshark, Pristiophorus nudipinnis; Bahamas sawshark, Pristiophorus schroederi. Despite being in two completely different families of fish, Sawfish and Sawsharks look nearly identical. While these two groups of fish are very similar in appearance, they actually have quite a few big differences that can make it easy to tell them apart once you know them! All of them are endangered species. The saw shark uses these like other bottom fish, as a kind of antennae, feeling the way along the ocean bottom until it finds some prey of interest. Sawfish are very large fish, some reaching over 7 meters in length! However, it is important to remember that sawfish are actually rays while sawsharks are true sharks. The snouts are actually very different on these two fish. There are five recognized species of sawfishes living worldwide today: the narrowtooth sawfish, Anoxypristis cuspidate; the green sawfish, Pristis zijsron; the dwarf sawfish, and Pristis clavata. Sawfish may not follow the typical body plan of their relatives the stingrays, but they are more closely related to them than they are to sawsharks! Basking Shark vs. Whale Shark: The Oceans' Biggest Fish. The ocean is filled with so many incredible creatures, incredible and bizarre. A photo of the smalltooth sawfish I dived with in March off the port of Miami. However, the actual structure of the saw is really quite different! Both generally tend to keep near the bottom of the seabed, although Sawsharks tend to swim in much deeper waters. In addition to size, it is important to know that sawfish are technically rays while sawsharks are true sharks. Fun fact: Sawfish fins are a popular choice for Shark soup, even though Sawfish aren’t really Sharks. This similarity in appearance or development of similar structures is what is known as homology. Sawfish belong to the Ray family, and Sawsharks are, well, Sharks. A sawshark grows to be about 5 feet. While Sawsharks usually top out at a modest 5 feet and 19 pounds, Sawfish can grow over 20 feet and weigh over 1,200 pounds! © 2019 FishingBooker.com. Barbels are found only on sawshark saws and they look like a little moustache coming off the saw. Nevertheless, they are both flattened, bottom dwelling fish with a big long snout that has teeth sticking out of the sides. After reading Dave Grant's article, "Vanishing Sawfish “, in our last newsletter, several members asked me how tell sawfish and sawsharks apart. These are the Narrow, Dwarf, Smalltooth, Largetooth, and Green Sawfish. One great example for this can be seen in sawfish and sawsharks! Have you ever encountered one before? Teeth can be found along both sides of the saw like in sawfish, however, sawshark teeth are replaceable! While sawsharks are much smaller, averaging around 1 meter for an adult depending on species. Sawsharks on the other hand have a very different saw. Sawfish like coastal waters. Well, at least not counting each other. Both have thousands of electroreceptors (Ampullae of Lorenzini) in their snouts which they use to find prey and navigate. The rostral teeth of sawfish also grow from their base, like a rodent’s tooth, so that the animals can sharpen them regularly in the sand. The most distinguishable feature to separate a sawfish and a sawshark saw is the presence of what are called ‘barbels’. That’s exactly what you’re about to learn. The most obvious difference is their size: sawfish can grown to a length of more than 20 feet and weigh more than 1,200 pounds, but a really large sawshark is around five feet in length and weighs perhaps 20 pounds. The saw is thought to be used for predation and defense in both groups. Where as in sharks they are located on the side of the head. Two other species are found in U.S. waters: the largetooth sawfish, Pristis pristis, which is limited to the Gulf of Mexico; and the smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, that is now only found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida. Meaning that if they happen to lose one it will never grow back. Another difference is habitat. What do you think about these two unique looking fish? Since 2003, the U.S. has listed the smalltooth sawfish as endangered. The gills on a Sawfish are on the underside, which is typical of Rays. 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