Pristidae – Sawfish

One of the most extraordinary groups of rays in the world, instantly recognized by their unique rostra—long, flattened snouts lined with sharp teeth that look like giant saws. This rostrum is not merely for show; it’s a highly specialized tool used for hunting, defense, and foraging. Equipped with electroreceptors, the saw can sense faint electric signals given off by prey, allowing sawfish to hunt in murky waters where visibility is poor. With a quick side-to-side swipe, they can stun schools of fish or even impale unlucky individuals while digging into sand or mud to uncover crustaceans and mollusks.

Unlike most rays, sawfishes have a body shape that resembles a shark, with a more elongated form and a powerful tail, but they share the ray characteristic of having gills on the underside of the body. Members of Pristidae can grow to enormous sizes, with some individuals reaching lengths of over seven meters, making them among the largest rays in existence and rivals to manta rays in sheer size. Their habitats range widely, from shallow coastal waters and mangroves to rivers and lakes, and one of the most remarkable features of the family is their ability to survive in both saltwater and freshwater. The largetooth sawfish, for instance, is known to travel hundreds of kilometers inland, navigating rivers to reach freshwater lakes, while other species like the green sawfish prefer estuaries and coastal lagoons.

Sawfishes are also cultural icons. Their rostra were historically used in rituals, as symbols of power, and even as weapons in some traditional societies, their striking form embedding them in folklore and legend. They are considered “living fossils,” having existed for tens of millions of years with little evolutionary change, and their persistence through time is a testament to their unique adaptations. Yet, tragically, every species in the family Pristidae is now critically endangered.