What does a saw shark look like? Sawfish ray or sawfish

The endless latitudes of the ocean contain very a large number of various inhabitants. They differ from each other in interesting shapes, fancy names, colors and natural external features. Let's highlight several inhabitants depths of the sea, which have interesting properties and external features - sawfish. The full name of the fish is common sawfly(from Latin Pristidae).


This difficult inhabitant of the mysterious depths of the ocean differs from her “neighbors” by a bone growth on her head, which is very reminiscent of a saw. In this case, the saw is almost half the length of the fish itself. Belongs to the stingray family, but does not have a spine in its structure, which is distinctive feature in many representatives of the subspecies. There are several varieties of sawfish - the saw shark and the sawfish ray.

1. Quite often, sawfish are confused with the so-called saw sharks. The thing is that they are very similar in appearance and both have skin consisting of placoid scales;
2. The sawfish was listed in the Red Book;
3. These fish mainly live on the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea;
4. Representatives of this species give birth to fully formed children in eggs; they have never laid eggs;
5. It is absolutely impossible to find it in the open ocean, but it feels great in coastal areas;
6. Sometimes they end up in large rivers that flow into the ocean and remain there;
7. They feed on very small animals that live at the bottom of sand or silt;
8. There has long been a legend that a sawfish could easily saw through an entire wooden ship;
9. The meat of this fish is usually not given special attention due to its toughness;
10. The length of the fish is from 4.5 – 5 meters. But sometimes there are individuals with a body length of about 7 meters. The weight category is also quite large, about 300 kg;
11. Fish are born with a long and soft saw, covered with small teeth and its length in adults is approximately 100-120 cm;
12. The saw is her main weapon, which is how she sometimes gets food for herself;
13. It does not pose any danger to humans;
14. In nature, there are not only sawfish like sharks, but also like stingrays;
15. Many cultures used the basic image of the sawfish as a tribal symbol (Aztecs);
16. The sawfish ray is the main symbol central bank West Africa;
17. We can meet sawfish in the cartoon about the “blue puppy”;
18. The pregnancy of a female fish lasts for 5 months and the offspring reaches 14-15 individuals;
19. The sawfish is very sensitive to the electric field that is formed as a result of the movement of potential victims and in this case it is easier for it to hunt, so this species can be classified as a dangerous and dexterous predator;
20. Scientists have proven that some species of sawfish can reproduce without the direct participation of males in this process, and their young will have an exact copy of the mother - parthenogenesis (this is explained by the fact that this species is disappearing, and nature is helping to restore the natural balance). IN Lately This process of reproduction spreads and occurs quite often.

Differences between saw shark and saw ray

Let's look at some important differences between these species, as they often confuse even the most experienced researchers.

• The saw shark is not significant in size compared to saw-blade rays (6 m or more); their length, including the tool, is only about 1.5 m;
• Another significant difference involves the presence of gill slits on both sides of the body in sharks, and on the lower part of the body in rays;
• These species are also distinguished by the presence and outline of fins - in sharks they look separated from the body, and in rays they are distinguished by a smooth transition to the body;
• Another significant difference relates directly to the “tool” of these two species of fish. In sharks, the “saw” is slightly narrowed towards the end and the teeth on it are of different sizes, especially in the middle of the row. In stingrays, on the contrary, the “saw” is very neat, of the same size and the teeth have the same structure and shape;
• An interesting fact is that sawn sharks recover broken teeth over time, while stingrays do not grow back even after minor damage;
• Sharks grow long mustaches on their “tools,” which stingrays do not have;
• Sharks move with the help of the well-known fin, so it is very easy to distinguish it from a stingray, which moves with wavy movements;
• Many people are interested in the meat of sawnose sharks; in some countries it is a local delicacy, which cannot be said about the meat of sawfish rays.

The main use of the fish's "tool"

Fish of this species use their weapons at all stages of hunting and capturing their potential victims. They strike animals with their electric weapons and impale their prey on the teeth that run the entire length of the saw. The speed of their movements is simply elusive. They deftly handle the tool and immediately inflict several side blows on the victims.

The saw in their case acts as the main electric search engine, which easily finds various species of animals living in the depths of the ocean. It is not difficult for them to detect and capture prey that was several layers of water higher than them.

Now these listed Interesting Facts about the life of fish various types, will help even the most inexperienced ichthyologists find without much difficulty distinctive features between them. Their most important difference is already visible to the naked eye - it is hidden in their different names. There is an opinion that the sawfish, thanks to its tool, is very clumsy, but having paid attention to the way they hunt, catch prey and dexterity, thanks to the same tool, this myth simply dissolves.

This inhabitant of the World Ocean stands out among others in that it has a jagged bone growth on its head, which really resembles a saw and makes up approximately a quarter of the total body length.

The exact biological name of this fish is the common sawfish, and it belongs to the stingray family. On the back of a sawfish (lat. Pristidae) there are two fins, and one on the tail, and unlike many other stingrays, it does not have a spine.

Just like sharks, the skin of sawfish is covered with placoid scales. Due to their great external similarity, sawnose rays are sometimes confused with sawnose sharks, but they are a completely different family of fish.

They can be distinguished by the way their gills are located: sawfish, like all rays, have gill slits at the bottom of the head, and sawnose sharks have gill slits on its sides. Besides, the fish drank It is significantly larger in size than sawnose sharks.

This species of fish is listed in the International Red Book and lives in the coastal parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea. Sawfish, which live off the coast of the American continent, migrate from south to north in summer, and from north to south in autumn.

The common sawfly does not lay eggs, but reproduces by ovoviviparity. One female Sawfish can give birth to fifteen to twenty babies at a time. Moreover, while they are still in the womb, their “saw” is completely covered with skin.

It is almost impossible to find sawfish in the open ocean. For its habitat, it has chosen coastal areas, and sometimes it enters the shallows, and then you can see the dorsal fins sticking out of the water.

It also happens that she comes into large rivers flowing into the ocean, and some of the sawfish species, for example, the Australian sawfish, have become so comfortable in fresh water that they live permanently in the rivers of the Green Continent.

The diet of sawfish consists mainly of a variety of small animals that live in the sand and silt covering the bottom. It is for this, and not for any carpentry work, that a sawmill needs a saw. With its help, this type of stingray loosens the bottom soil and digs out those unfortunates from it, who then go to food.

However, there is also evidence that the saw blade can be used by the sawmill not only as a shovel, but also as a kind of saber. There is numerous evidence of how these bottom fish quickly burst into schools of sardines or mullet and how real fencers hit their prey with a saw, which they calmly ate after it sank to the bottom. The sawfish became so famous due to its unusual appearance. Previously, there was even a legend that she was capable of sawing a wooden ship, and that is why even experienced “sea wolves” were afraid of meeting her. However, in fact, this fish is not at all dangerous for humans, and, like most other species of stingrays, when it encounters it, it often tries to quickly hide.

As for its commercial value, it is very small, since the meat of the common sawfly is quite coarse, although quite edible.

The largetooth sawfish (Pristis perotteti) is now firmly established in the inland waters of its habitat. For example, the population found in Lake Nicaragua appears to be entirely freshwater and may represent a distinct species distinct from sawfish rays found in waters along the coasts of Central America.

Like many sharks, sawfish rays produce litters of live young. The body of a pregnant female fish, caught off the coast of Sri Lanka, contained 23 fry. To make the process of pregnancy and childbirth less painful, the fry's teeth are covered with a protective shell, and the stigmas remain soft and flexible until the offspring are born.

The sawfish has a very impressive size, but it is still far from being a giant freshwater stingray. The average length of her body is 4.5-4.8 meters. There are larger individuals, 6-7 meters. It also weighs a lot - this is how a stingray 4.2 meters long was caught, the weight of which reached 315 kilograms. The heavyweight record belongs to a stingray weighing 2.4 tons. It's a pity that its length is not indicated anywhere.

These rays are born with a long but soft snout with small teeth hidden under a leathery shell so as not to damage the mother. In adult individuals, the length of the “saw” can reach 110-120 centimeters.

Unlike other species of stingrays, the sawfish does not have a spine on its caudal fin. Some people confuse these stingrays with sawnose sharks, which they closely resemble. How can you tell them apart? Everything is very simple. In sharks, the gills are located at the edges of the head, while in stingrays they are located at the bottom. In addition, the latter have a flattened body, the edges of the pectoral fins are fused with the head at the level of the mouth. All these features, as well as the absence of antennae on the snout, distinguish saw-nosed rays from saw-nosed sharks (Pristiophoridae).

Now we come to the answer to the question - why does a fish need a saw? It turns out that with its help, the stingray digs out small fish hidden from it from the silt and sand. In addition to the fact that the saw serves as a kind of “shovel” for him, it is also a formidable weapon. Having burst into a school of fish, the stingray furiously begins to swing the “saw” from side to side. After this, it calmly sinks to the bottom and swallows the wounded or “sawed” fish. This fish is completely safe for humans.

Sawfish have an elongated shark-like body. The most noticeable feature is the so-called saw - a bone growth on the head, framed on the sides by teeth. The sawfish is about a quarter of the sawfly's body length. They have two dorsal fins and a large tail fin without a spine. The skin, like that of sharks, is covered with placoid scales.

Saw-nosed rays should not be confused with saw-nosed sharks, which in relation to them experienced convergent evolutionary development and acquired a similar appearance. Compared to sawnose sharks, sawnose sharks are much larger, reaching between 4.7 and 7.6 meters.

Spreading

Reproduction

Classification

• Asian sawfly ( Anoxypristis cuspidata)
• Queensland sawfly ( Pristis clavata)
• Small-toothed sawfish ( Pristis microdon)
• Comb sawfish ( Pristis pectinata)
• Atlantic sawfly ( Pristis perotteti)
• European sawfly ( Pristis pristis)
• Green sawfly ( Pristis zijsron)

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Synonyms

See what “Sawfish” is in other dictionaries: Noun, number of synonyms: 3 sawfish (3) fish (773) stingray (40) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin...

Synonym dictionary The fish drank, the fish drank...

Spelling dictionary-reference book Fight like a fish on ice, catch fish in muddy water Noun, number of synonyms: 3 sawfish (3) fish (773) stingray (40) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin...

, dumb as a fish.. Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian Dictionaries, 1999. fish fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, little fish, live bait,... ... SAW FISH, saw fish, women. (zool.). A predatory fish, a genus of stingray (see stingray3), similar to a shark, with a highly elongated snout, having processes on both sides that resemble saw teeth. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 …

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary SAW FISH, saw fish, women. A predatory fish from the order of stingrays with processes on its face resembling saw teeth. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 …

Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary sawfish - SAW FISH, saw fish, w Predatory fish from the order of stingrays with processes on the face resembling saw teeth. Sawfish are occasionally caught in the Caribbean...

Explanatory dictionary of Russian nouns Noun, number of synonyms: 3 sawfish (3) fish (773) stingray (40) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin...

Noun, number of synonyms: 1 fish (773) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… G. A predatory fish of the suborder stingrays with a long snout with processes on both sides resembling saw teeth. Ephraim's explanatory dictionary. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern Dictionary

This inhabitant of the World Ocean stands out among others in that it has a jagged bone growth on its head, which really resembles a saw and makes up approximately a quarter of the total body length.

Russian language Efremova Pristidae The exact biological name of this fish is the common sawfish, and it belongs to the stingray family. On the back of a sawfish (lat.

Just like sharks, the skin of sawfish is covered with placoid scales. Due to their great external similarity, sawnose rays are sometimes confused with sawnose sharks, but they are a completely different family of fish.

) there are two fins, and one on the tail, and unlike many other stingrays, it does not have a spine. the fish drank It is significantly larger in size than sawnose sharks.

They can be distinguished by the way their gills are located: sawfish, like all rays, have gill slits at the bottom of the head, and sawnose sharks have gill slits on its sides. Besides,

The common sawfly does not lay eggs, but reproduces by ovoviviparity. One female Sawfish can give birth to fifteen to twenty babies at a time. Moreover, while they are still in the womb, their “saw” is completely covered with skin.

It is almost impossible to find sawfish in the open ocean. For its habitat, it has chosen coastal areas, and sometimes it enters the shallows, and then you can see the dorsal fins sticking out of the water.

It also happens that it enters large rivers that flow into the ocean, and some of the sawfish species, for example, the Australian sawfish, have become so accustomed to fresh water that they live permanently in the rivers of the Green Continent.

The diet of sawfish consists mainly of a variety of small animals that live in the sand and silt covering the bottom. It is for this, and not for any carpentry work, that a sawmill needs a saw. With its help, this type of stingray loosens the bottom soil and digs out those unfortunates from it, who then go to food.

However, there is also evidence that the saw blade can be used by the sawmill not only as a shovel, but also as a kind of saber. There is numerous evidence of how these bottom-dwelling fish quickly burst into schools of sardines or mullet and how real fencers hit their prey with a saw, which they calmly ate after it sank to the bottom. The sawfish became so famous due to its unusual appearance. Previously, there was even a legend that she was capable of sawing a wooden ship, and that is why even experienced “sea wolves” were afraid of meeting her. However, in fact, this fish is not at all dangerous for humans, and, like most other species of stingrays, when it encounters it, it often tries to quickly hide.

As for its commercial value, it is very small, since the meat of the common sawfly is quite coarse, although quite edible.

The largetooth sawfish (Pristis perotteti) is now firmly established in the inland waters of its habitat. For example, the population found in Lake Nicaragua appears to be entirely freshwater and may represent a distinct species distinct from sawfish rays found in waters along the coasts of Central America.

Like many sharks, sawfish rays produce litters of live young. The body of a pregnant female fish, caught off the coast of Sri Lanka, contained 23 fry. To make the process of pregnancy and childbirth less painful, the fry's teeth are covered with a protective shell, and the stigmas remain soft and flexible until the offspring are born.

The sawfish has a very impressive size, but it is still far from being a giant freshwater stingray. The average length of her body is 4.5-4.8 meters. There are larger individuals, 6-7 meters. It also weighs a lot - this is how a stingray 4.2 meters long was caught, the weight of which reached 315 kilograms. The heavyweight record belongs to a stingray weighing 2.4 tons. It's a pity that its length is not indicated anywhere.

These rays are born with a long but soft snout with small teeth hidden under a leathery shell so as not to damage the mother. In adult individuals, the length of the “saw” can reach 110-120 centimeters.

Unlike other species of stingrays, the sawfish does not have a spine on its caudal fin. Some people confuse these stingrays with sawnose sharks, which they closely resemble. How can you tell them apart? Everything is very simple. In sharks, the gills are located at the edges of the head, while in stingrays they are located at the bottom. In addition, the latter have a flattened body, the edges of the pectoral fins are fused with the head at the level of the mouth. All these features, as well as the absence of antennae on the snout, distinguish saw-nosed rays from saw-nosed sharks (Pristiophoridae).

Now we come to the answer to the question - why does a fish need a saw? It turns out that with its help, the stingray digs out small fish hidden from it from the silt and sand. In addition to the fact that the saw serves as a kind of “shovel” for him, it is also a formidable weapon. Having burst into a school of fish, the stingray furiously begins to swing the “saw” from side to side. After this, it calmly sinks to the bottom and swallows the wounded or “sawed” fish. This fish is completely safe for humans.

The sawfish (common sawfish) belongs to the family of cartilaginous fish from the superorder stingrays. She gained fame due to her appearance. Only 7 species of sawflies have survived to this day: Atlantic, green, smalltooth, European, Asian, Australian, and combed. The sawfish has a shark-like elongated body, on which there are 2 fins on each side and 2 triangular fins on the back. There are species in which the tail part seems to merge with the body, and there are species with a caudal fin divided into 2 parts. The skin of the sawfish, like that of a shark, is covered. It has different types various shades of olive drab. The belly is almost white. Pictures of sawfish clearly demonstrate its main advantage - a flat and long growth on the snout in the shape of a saw.

Quite often, sawnose rays are confused with one of the types of sharks, namely the sawnose ray. This is not true, although sharks are among the closest relatives of stingrays. In the latter, the gills are located at the bottom, while in sharks they are on the sides. In addition, stingrays are larger in size. Mostly they reach from 4 to 5 meters in length, but there are also seven-meter specimens. And the sawnose shark rarely grows more than 1.5 meters. In one of the presented photos of the sawfish, its belly is clearly visible, on which the mouth opening and a pair of gills resemble a tearful face.

Sawfish rays belong to an ovoviviparous fish species. In other words, their baby is born already formed, but in the shell of a leathery egg. A female can give birth to up to 20 babies at once. At the same time, their saw in the womb is completely hidden by the skin; at birth it is soft, and hardens only with time.

The sawfish lives in all oceans except the Arctic Ocean. Its favorite place is coastal waters; it is practically never found in the open ocean. Quite often it likes to bask in shallow water, and in such shallow water that its dorsal fins are clearly visible above the water. Off the coast of Australia, out of 7 species, 5 live, and in general, the Australian sawfish has long become accustomed to fresh river waters, where it lives without swimming into the ocean. In general, all species of these stingrays thrive both in salty ocean water and in brackish and freshwater environments. The only place where they cannot live is water contaminated with waste. During seasonal migrations, sawfish can safely swim into large rivers; this happens in summer and autumn.

This species feeds on invertebrate benthic animals that live in the silt or sand covering the bottom. And it is precisely to loosen the bottom soil that the sawmill requires its saw. Although there is evidence that he uses his saw not only as a shovel. It can quickly burst into, for example, a school of mullet and swing its growth like a saber, hitting the prey. And when it sinks to the bottom, the sawfish calmly eats it there.

It is generally believed that sawfish are not dangerous to humans. But still there were several cases of attack. There have even been fatal cases in the Gulf of Panama. Although if you don’t provoke her, that is, don’t tease her or attack her, then most likely she will simply try to hide when a person approaches. And those who like to walk in the shallow waters of the ocean need to know that stingrays love to bask in the sun there. Take this into account and try not to step on one of them. And if we talk about harm, then a person, polluting water, causes more damage to it. You should know that individual species Sawfish are already on the verge of extinction; they are listed in the Red Book. And recently, the total number of these stingrays has sharply decreased. Very few people can boast of having seen a sawfish in its natural habitat.