SAW HEAD SHARK Encounter Sea World Orlando Florida 1973 Elongated Penny 1c Cent.

A sawshark or saw shark is a member of a shark order (Pristiophoriformes /prɪstiˈɒfɒrɪfɔːrmiːz/) bearing a unique long, saw-like rostrum (snout or bill) edged with sharp teeth, which they use to slash and disable their prey. There are eight species within the Pristiophoriformes, including the longnose or common sawshark (Pristiophorus cirratus), shortnose sawshark (Pristiophorus nudipinnis), Japanese sawshark (Pristiophorus japonicas), Bahamas sawshark (Pristiophorus schroederi), sixgill sawshark (Pliotrema warreni), African dwarf sawshark (Pristiophorus nancyae), Lana's sawshark (Pristiophorus lanae) and the tropical sawshark (Pristiophorus delicatus)

Scientific classification e

Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Chordata

Class:

Chondrichthyes

Subclass:

Elasmobranchii

Infraclass:

Euselachii

Superorder:

Selachimorpha

Order:

Pristiophoriformes

L. S. Berg, 1958

Family:

Pristiophoridae

Bleeker, 1859

Genera[1]

†Ikamauius Keyes, 1979

Pliotrema Regan, 1906

Pristiophorus J. P. Müller & Henle, 1837

†Propristiophorus Woodward, 1932

Sawsharks are found in many areas around the world, most commonly in waters from the Indian Ocean to the southern Pacific Ocean. They are normally found at depths around 40–100 m, but can be found much lower in tropical regions. The Bahamas sawshark was discovered in deeper waters (640 m to 915 m) of the northwestern Caribbean.

Saw sharks and sawfish are cartilaginous fish possessing large saws. These are the only two fish that have a long blade-like snout.[35] Although they are similar in appearances, saw sharks are distinct from sawfish. Sawfish are not sharks, but a type of ray. The gill slits of the sawfishes are positioned on the underside like a ray, but the gill slits of the saw shark are positioned on the side like a shark. Sawfish can have a much larger size, lack barbels, and have evenly sized teeth rather than alternating teeth of the saw shark. Clear difference is that a sawfish has no barbels and a saw shark has a prominent pair halfway along the saw. The saw shark uses these like other bottom fish, as a kind of antennae, feeling the way along the ocean bottom until it finds some prey of interest. Both the saw shark and the sawfish utilize the electroreceptors on the saw, ampullae of Lorenzini, to detect the electric field given off by buried prey.