Sawfish
The sawfish is a type of ray whose most notable characteristic is their long face, with 16 to 37 teeth.
Where to find them?
You can find the sawfish in the shark tunnel of the aquarium, located in the Oceans installation.
General aspects
They are a very peculiar group of elasmobranchs, whose most notable characteristic is the presence of a long, sword shaped face.
Although this animal is commonly known as a carpenter shark, the proper name to refer to it is the sawfish.
They are characterised by having a large, flat body (similar to guitarfish) with branchial slits located ventrally sawsharks belong to the pristiophoriformes order and are characterised by having a smaller morphology more similar to that of a typical shark, with branchial slits on both sides of the body and barbels halfway along the “saw”.
Which region do they inhabit?
Located in both temperate and tropical latitudes of the planet, they usually inhabit areas with sandy bottoms near the coast, even entering estuaries and travelling large distances upriver. Some may live a large part of their life in inland (fresh) water, in rivers and lakes.
How do they reproduce?
They are thought to mate once every two years and can have up to 8 pups per cycle. When the pups are still inside their mother, a covering with a rubbery consistency protects the delicate “saw”, and just before being born this sheath protects the mother from her children. Shortly after birth, this cover dissolves and the pup can start to feed on small crustaceans and fish.
Did you know...?
In addition to using the saw to detect buried animals, it is also used as a rake to dig them up and then eat them.