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ANDY MURCH ELASMO GEEK

 

WHAT IS ELASMODIVER?

Not just a huge collection of Shark Pictures: Elasmodiver.com contains images of sharks, skates, rays, and a few chimaera's from around the world. Elasmodiver began as a simple web based shark field guide to help divers find the best places to encounter the different species of sharks and rays that live in shallow water but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project containing information on all aspects of shark diving and shark photography.

There are now more than 10,000 shark pictures  and sections on shark evolution, biology, and conservation. There is a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly updated shark taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters. Elasmodiver is now so difficult to check for updates, that new information and pictures are listed on an Elasmodiver Updates Page that can be accessed here:

WHAT'S NEW?

Shark picture - green sawfish

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FRESHWATER SAWFISH

largetooth sawfish

Freshwater Sawfish Images by Andy Murch. All rights reserved

View all available Freshwater Sawfish Pictures in the Shark Pictures Database

Common Names: Freshwater Sawfish, Largetooth Sawfish, Broadbill Sawfish.

Latin Name: Pristis microdon

Family: Pristidae

Identification: Overall flattened sharklike body. Elongated flattened rostrum (saw) with 18 to 23 pairs of  evenly spaced rostral teeth. Anterior pair of rostral teeth angled forward. Base of rostrum wide hence vernacular: Broadbill Sawfish. First dorsal fin originates in front of pelvic fins. Distinct lower caudal lobe.

Size: Maximum length 5m. At birth approx 50cm.

Habitat: Sand and mud bottoms in mildly saline estuaries, rivers, and lagoons. Freshwater Sawfish is a misnomer. It spends its first 3-4 years in freshwater growing to about half its adult size. Adults penetrate from weakly saline estuaries into fresh water rivers(up to 100km from the sea) . Individual sawfish may be cut off in small ponds for years at a time between floods. In Australia it is confined to large freshwater river drainages.

Abundance and distribution: Considered critically endangered by the IUCN red list 2006 survey. Freshwater Sawfish are known in Australia from the Fitzroy River system in WA to the western side of the Cape York Peninsula. Also reported from Papua New Guinea and parts of Indonesia, and Irian Jaya. May also occur in India or even worldwide.

Behavior: Swims into schools of fish and thrashes its saw from side to side, wounding and killing the fish which it then recovers. May also use its saw to dig for crustaceans and mollusks in the sediment.

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous. The largetooth sawfish may reproduce in fresh water. Gestation period approx 5 months. Litter size 1 to at least 12. Young are born with flexible rostrums in which the teeth are covered with a sheath of skin to avoid injury to the mother. After birth the rostrum straightens and hardens.

Observations:

Photographs:  

Similar species: The Green Sawfish has a minimum of 24 pairs of rostral teeth that a more closely spaced towards the point of the saw. The Dwarf Sawfish (Pristis clavata) has a rounder head and evenly spaced rostral teeth, the Narrow Sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata) has a much narrower rostrum.

Reaction to divers: Unknown. Probably moves away. The photographed individual was difficult to approach in an aquarium situation. May use its rostrum in defense if cornered which could cause a severe injury.

Diving logistics: There are no locations that I know of where divers can reliably find Freshwater Sawfish due to their rarity and preference for turbid estuarine and river environments. Any information on sightings of this species by divers, fishermen, and hikers would be very welcome.

Other diving locations submitted by readers: 

References: 

  • Field Identification Guide to Western Australia - Sharks and Shark-like Rays. Department of Fisheries

  • Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage. DEH Species Profiles - Freshwater Sawfish.

Other names of the largetooth sawfish:

മകര സ്റാവ് India Malayalam

小齒鋸鰩 China Main Mandarin Chinese

小齿锯鳐 China Main Mandarin Chinese

नाळी India Marathi

शिंशि India Marathi

खानदीरी India Marathi

வெளமீன் India Tamil

കൊന്വന് സൊറ India Malayalam

കുന്പന് സോറ  India Malayalam

മകരസ്രാവ്  India Malayalam

வெலா  மீன்  India Tamil

Araguaguá Brazil Portuguese

Barabad Philippines Kuyunon

Barasan Philippines Bikol

Buntok lagari Philippines Kapampangan

Cá Dao Viet Nam Vietnamese

Cá Dao răng nhỏ Viet Nam Vietnamese

Caixaô Mozambique Sena

Catanuda Spain Spanish

Cucut gergaji Indonesia Malay

Cucut krakas Indonesia Javanese

Cucut pedang Indonesia Malay

Dienton Nicaragua Spanish

Ferskvandssavrokke Denmark Danish

Freshwater sawfish Australia English

Greattooth sawfish South Africa English

Groottand-saagvis South Africa Afrikaans

Khandere India Marathi

Kleingezahnter Sägefisch Germany German

Krarin Suriname Sranan

Kumben-sorah India Malayalam

Kundah India Oriya

Largetooth sawfish South Africa English

Leichhardts sawfish Australia English

Leichthardts Sägefisch Germany German

Makarasravu India Malayalam

Manglagpit Philippines Kuyunon

Mungsing prampang Indonesia Javanese

Mvag Gabon Fang

Nga-man-swethi Myanmar Burmese

Nokogiriei Japan Japanese

Pakangan Philippines Bikol

Palangan Philippines Pangasinan

Panprang Indonesia Javanese

Papa upanga Kenya Swahili

Peixe-serra Brazil Portuguese

Pejesierra Spain Spanish

Pez peine Ecuador Spanish

Pez rastrillo Spain Spanish

Poisson scie Gabon French

Poisson-scie grandent France French

Prampran Indonesia Javanese

Prampran Indonesia Malay

Ryba pila Poland Polish

Small-tooth sawfish UK English

Smalltooth sawfish Australia English

Smalltoothed sawfish India English

Tag-an Philippines Tagalog

Taghan Philippines Visayan

Trey thka Cambodia Khmer

Trey thkaw Cambodia Khmer

Tubarão-serra Cape Verde Portuguese

Tubarão-serra dentuço Mozambique Portuguese

Valameen India Tamil

Wide snouted saw fish India English

Zoetwaterzaagrog Netherlands Dutch

 

 

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