common sawfish

Pristis pristis

A sawfish entering tropical freshwaters

Cross-climate
Subtropical
Tropical
Coastal
Estuary
Transcontinental
Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Africa
Europe
North America
Oceania
South America
Elongated
Large
Tropical fish

The largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis, syn. P. microdon and P. perotteti) is a species of sawfish in the family Pristidae. It is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical coastal regions, but also enters freshwater.

Class: Sharks and Rays
Order: Shovelnose Rays
Family: Pristidae
Genus: Pristis
Maximum length: 750 cm
Body shape: elongated
Distribution: Circumglobally in tropical and subtropical waters, entering estuaries and littoral lagoons and ascending river courses (Ref. 81284 , 81624 ). Western Atlantic: Florida and Louisiana, USA to Brazil (Ref. 7251 ); eastern Atlantic: Portugal to Angola, including the western Mediterranean Sea (Ref. 4429 ; no report since the 19th century [Ref. 116564 ] ); western Pacific: northern Australia, from western Australia to Queensland (Ref. 7300 ); eastern Pacific: Gulf of California to Ecuador (Ref. 4429 ). In freshwater it can be found in rivers of West Africa (Ref. 81284 ), Ogowe River (Ref. 81284 ) and the Congo River estuary (Ref. 377 , 81284 ).
Conservation status: CRCritically Endangered

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