Fish
Sawshark
Pristiophoridae · also called saw shark
Trailing a pair of sensitive barbels along a long, toothed snout, a sawshark hunts by feel as much as by sight, slashing sideways through the sand to stun buried prey before circling back to feed.
Overview
The sawshark, family Pristiophoridae, is a true shark native to ocean habitat recorded across temperate and tropical waters worldwide. Its sensitive barbel-equipped snout, genuine shark anatomy distinct from the unrelated sawfish, and side-slashing hunting technique make it one of the more distinctive predators found anywhere in coastal and continental shelf waters.
A saw that belongs to a shark, not a ray
Despite sharing a superficially similar toothed snout with the sawfish, the sawshark is a true shark through and through, complete with side-mounted gill slits and a pair of sensitive barbels the sawfish entirely lacks, making the resemblance between the two animals a case of convergent evolution rather than close kinship.
Status
Least Concern for the family as a whole, though some individual species face localised fishing pressure across parts of their range.
Sawshark: common questions
How is the sawshark different from the sawfish?
This family is made up of true sharks, distinct from the unrelated sawfish, a group of rays that also has a toothed snout but lacks barbels and has gill slits on the underside of its body rather than the sides.
What are the barbels on a sawshark's snout for?
This family has a pair of long, sensitive barbels positioned partway along its saw-like snout, used to detect prey hidden in sand or mud on the seafloor before the shark attacks.
How does a sawshark use its saw to catch food?
This family uses its toothed snout to slash side to side through a group of small prey, stunning or injuring them before circling back to feed on the disabled animals.
Does the sawshark lay eggs?
No, this family is ovoviviparous, with young developing inside the mother and being born live rather than hatching from eggs laid externally.