Pristis zijsron (Green sawfish)

Bleeker, 1851

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Chondrichthyes > Elasmobranchii > Batoidei > Rajiformes > Pristoidei > Pristidae

Pristis zijsron (Green sawfish) [Illustration by Ann Hecht ©]

Identification

A slender sawfish with a long, extremely narrow, slightly tapering saw, with 23 to 32 pairs of small teeth. Space between last two saw-teeth on a side is 4 to 8 times that between the first two teeth (2 to 3 times in young). Pectoral fins low and rounded, 1st dorsal partly behind pelvic fins, caudal fin without a pronounced lower lobe. Colour greenish above, cream below.

Size

To 7.3 m TL.

Range

East coast, southern Mozambique; Indian Ocean and western Pacific.

Habitat

Inshore, in estuaries and tropical rivers.

Biology

Little known.

Human Impact

None.

Text by Leonard J.V. Compagno, David A. Ebert and Malcolm J. Smale