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Sea Creatures 101: Talented Fish: Sawfish

© Sharon Rorem

Fish are amazing, adaptable creatures. We have a tendency to think that only humans can have talent. When we think about animals with talent, I would guess that fish are not at the top of the list. I work part-time at an aquarium. In my study for that job and research for my topic, I began to see an interesting sub-topic developing. So many fish have special things that only they can do-a type of "talent" that only they have. One such fish is the sawfish. When I first started at the aquarium, we had a sawfish. His name was Mick, because his mouth sort of reminded us of Mick Jagger. (Look at the picture above and you'll get an idea why.)

The talent of a sawfish is pretty obvious. The "nose" (called a rostrum) looks like a saw. They hunt at night, using this rostrum as a rake and combing the ocean floor for buried animals like crabs and lobster, and also swim up from the ocean floor to "hook" a live fish. This rostrum is more than just a long nose with teeth. There are sensors covering the rostrum that can detect electrical current. All living animals emit an electrical current (yes-even humans.) The sensors pick up this current, and the sawfish moves its head back and forth hoping to catch the prey on the tooth-like protrusions along each side of the rostrum. The sawfish will then drag the prey to the ocean floor and suck the prey into its mouth. Now-that's talent!

Sawfish are members of the Elasmobranch family, which includes rays, skates, and sharks. Sawfish are rays because of the placement of the gills. The gills are under the body- like rays, instead of on the sides of the body- like sharks. Sawfish are not fish. Fish have bones, and sawfish have cartilage, like sharks and rays. Like rays, they don't have teeth but have a grinding plate in their mouths to break up food. The "teeth" are actually not teeth at all but a type of scale called dermal denticle. Sharks have this all over their skin. Sawfish lose these "teeth" and they don't grow back. They just fall in the sand on the bottom. Collectors love these "teeth." A "tooth" 2.25 inches long by .5 inches wide can sell for 32 dollars.

There are about 40 species of known sawfishes, but only 4 to 7 species are known to be alive today. Two common sawfishes that can be found in the western side of the Atlantic Ocean are the Smalltooth and Largetooth sawfish. A Smalltooth sawfish generally has 23-34 teeth on each side of the rostrum and the Largetooth has 17-22 teeth on each side. Sawfish look aggressive, but they are actually peaceful animals content to stay buried in the sand. Some types of sawfish prefer muddy, shallow water, and can travel from saltwater into freshwater systems, like rivers and lakes. Most people will never encounter a sawfish, unless they are fishermen. The long rostrum of the sawfish will often be caught in a fisherman's net, and it is difficult to untangle the fish from the net without harm to the fish. There are three main causes for decline in sawfish populations in the United States- entanglement in net gear, restricted habitat, and low birth rate.