{{Short description|Species of cartilaginous fish}} {{Speciesbox | status = CR | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author1=Espinoza, M.|author2=Bonfil-Sanders, R.|author3=Carlson, J.|author4=Charvet, P.|author5=Chevis, M.|author6=Dulvy, N.K.|author7=Everett, B.|author8=Faria, V.|author9=Ferretti, F.|author10=Fordham, S.|author11=Grant, M.I.|author12=Haque, A.B.|author13=Harry, A.V.|author14=Jabado, R.W.|author15=Jones, G.C.A.|author16=Kelez, S.|author17=Lear, K.O.|author18=Morgan, D.L.|author19=Philips, N.M.|author20=Wueringer, B.E.|year=2022|title=''Pristis pristis'' |article-number=e.T18584848A58336780|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T18584848A58336780.en|access-date=20 May 2023}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A1 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref> | image = Pristis pristis - Georgia Aquarium Jan 2006.jpg | image_caption = At [[Georgia Aquarium]] | image2 = 2009 Pristis microdon1.JPG | image2_caption = At [[Shanghai Ocean Aquarium]], China | taxon = Pristis pristis | authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]) | synonyms = *''Pristis microdon'' {{small|[[John Latham (ornithologist)|Latham]], 1794}} *''Pristis perotteti'' {{small|[[Johannes Peter Müller|J. P. Müller]] & [[Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle|Henle]], 1841}} }}
The '''largetooth sawfish''' ('''''Pristis pristis''''', [[syn.]] ''P. microdon'' and ''P. perotteti'') is a [[species]] of [[sawfish]] in the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Pristidae]]. It is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical coastal regions, but also enters freshwater. It has declined drastically and is now [[critically endangered]].<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=fishbase>{{FishBase | genus = Pristis | species = pristis | month = November | year = 2017}}</ref><ref name=LastWhite2016>{{cite book |author=Last |author-link=Peter R. Last |author2=White |author3=de Carvalho |author4=Séret |author5=Stehmann |author6=Naylor | title=Rays of the World | year=2016 | publisher=[[CSIRO]] | pages=59–66 | isbn=978-0-643-10914-8 }}</ref>
A range of English names have been used for the species, or populations now part of the species, including '''common sawfish''' (despite it being far from common today),<ref name="fishbase"/> '''wide sawfish''',<ref name=Allen1999>{{cite book| author=Allen, G. | title=Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South East Asia | year=1999 | publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press | edition=3 | pages=44–45 | isbn=978-0-7309-8363-7 }}</ref> '''freshwater sawfish''', '''river sawfish''' (less frequently, other sawfish species also occur in freshwater and rivers), '''Leichhardt's sawfish''' (after explorer and naturalist [[Ludwig Leichhardt]]) and '''northern sawfish'''.<ref name=DEEAustralia>{{cite web |date=2017 | title=Pristis pristis — Freshwater Sawfish, Largetooth Sawfish, River Sawfish, Leichhardt's Sawfish, Northern Sawfish | url=http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=66182 | publisher=[[Department of the Environment and Energy]] | access-date=11 November 2017 }}</ref>
==Taxonomy== Historically, the [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]] of ''P. pristis'', in relation to ''P. microdon'' (claimed range: [[Indo-Pacific|Western Indo-Pacific]]) and ''P. perotteti'' (claimed range: [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Eastern Pacific]]), has caused considerable confusion; evidence published in 2013 revealed that the three are [[Biological specificity|conspecific]], as [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] and [[Genetics|genetic]] differences are lacking.<ref name=taxonomy>Faria, V. V.; McDavitt, M. T.; Charvet, P.; Wiley, T. R.; Simpfendorfer, C. A.; Naylor, G. J. P. (2013). ''Species delineation and global population structure of Critically Endangered sawfishes (Pristidae).'' Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 167: 136–164. [[doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00872.x]] Retrieved 26 August 2013.</ref> As a consequence, recent authorities treat ''P. microdon'' and ''P. perotteti'' as [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonyms]] of ''P. pristis'';<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=DEEAustralia/><ref>{{cite book |author=Last, P.R. |author-link=Peter R. Last |author2=De Carvalho, M.R. |author3=Corrigan, S. |author4=Naylor, G.J.P. |author5=Séret, B. |author6=Yang, L. | year=2016 | chapter=The Rays of the World project - an explanation of nomenclatural decisions | pages=1–10 |editor=Last, P.R. |editor2=Yearsley, G.R. | title=Rays of the World: Supplementary Information | publisher=CSIRO Special Publication | isbn=978-1-4863-0801-9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Eschmeyer, W.N. |author2=R. Fricke |author3=R. van der Laan | date=1 November 2017 | title=Catalog of Fishes<!-- search "Pristis" --> | url=http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp | publisher=[[California Academy of Sciences]] | access-date=11 November 2017 }}</ref><ref name=PollerspockStraube>{{cite web |author=Pollerspöck, J. |author2=N. Straube | title=Pristis pristis | url=http://shark-references.com/species/view/Pristis-pristis | publisher=shark-references.com | access-date=11 November 2017 }}</ref><ref name=Dulvy2014>{{cite journal |author=Dulvy |author2=Davidson |author3=Kyne |author4=Simpfendorfer |author5=Harrison |author6=Carlson |author7=Fordham | year=2014 | title=Ghosts of the coast: global extinction risk and conservation of sawfishes | journal=Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. | volume=26 | issue=1 | pages=134–153 | doi=10.1002/aqc.2525 |url=https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/37738/6/37738%20Dulvy%20et%20al%202016.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref> based on [[Genetic analysis|genetic analyses]] of ''[[NADH dehydrogenase|NADH]]-2'' genes, there are three main [[clade]]s of ''P. pristis'': Atlantic, Indo-West Pacific and East Pacific.<ref name="taxonomy" />
The scientific name ''Pristis'' (both the generic and specific names) is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word for "saw".<ref name="UoFlorida">{{cite web | author=Sullivan, T. | author2=C. Elenberger | date=April 2012 | title=Largetooth Sawfish | url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fish/discover/species-profiles/pristis-perotteti/ | publisher=University of Florida | access-date=11 November 2017 | archive-date=5 February 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205091526/https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/pristis-pristis/ }}</ref>
==Description== [[File:The fishes of India (Plate CXCI) (6924477086).jpg|thumb|Comparison of the largetooth sawfish (top), [[green sawfish]] (''P. zijsron''; middle) and [[knifetooth sawfish]] (''Anoxypristis cuspidata''; bottom). Notice especially the width of the saw, the teeth on the saw, the shape of the tail and [[pectoral fin]]s, and the position of the [[dorsal fin]] compared to the [[pelvic fin]]s]]
The largetooth sawfish may mature to {{convert|7.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} in total length,<ref name=fishbase/> though the largest confirmed specimen was a {{convert|7|m|ft|abbr=on}}-long West African individual.<ref name=Robillard2006>{{cite journal| last1=Robillard | first1=M. | last2=Séret | first2=B. | title=Cultural importance and decline of sawfish (Pristidae) populations in West Africa | year=2006 | journal=Cybium | volume=30 | issue=4 | pages=23–30 }}</ref> A sawfish caught in 1951 near [[Galveston, Texas]], was documented on film but not measured; this fish has been estimated to be of similar size.<ref name=Fernandez2013>{{cite journal |author=Fernandez-Carvalho |author2=Imhoff |author3=Faria |author4=Carlson |author5=Burgess | year=2013 | title=Status and the potential for extinction of the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis in the Atlantic Ocean | journal=Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. | volume=24 | issue=4 | pages=478–497 | doi=10.1002/aqc.2394 |url=http://www.repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/71307 }}</ref> Today, most individuals are far smaller and a typical length is {{convert|2-2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=fishbase/><ref name=Allen1999/> Large individuals may weigh as much as {{convert|500-600|kg|lb|abbr=on|0}},<ref name=UoFlorida/> or possibly even more.<ref name=Nunes2016>{{cite journal |author=Nunes |author2=Rincon |author3=Piorski |author4=Martins | year=2016 | title=Near-term embryos in a Pristis pristis (Elasmobranchii: Pristidae) from Brazil | journal=Journal of Fish Biology | volume=89 | issue=1 | pages=1112–1120 | doi=10.1111/jfb.12946 | pmid=27060457 |bibcode=2016JFBio..89.1112N }}</ref>
The largetooth sawfish is easily recognized by the forward position of the [[dorsal fin]] with its leading edge placed clearly in front of the leading edge of the [[pelvic fin]]s (when the sawfish is seen from above or the side), the relatively long pectoral fins with angular tips, and the presence of a small lower tail lobe. In all other sawfish species the leading edge of their dorsal fin is placed at, or behind, the leading edge of the pelvic fins, and all other ''Pristis'' sawfish species have shorter pectoral fins with less pointed tips and lack a distinct lower tail lobe (very small or none).<ref name=LastWhite2016/><ref name=SawfishID>{{cite web | url=http://www.sawfishconservationsociety.org/Sawfish%20Identification.htm | title=Sawfish Identification | publisher=Sawfish Conservation Society | access-date=17 November 2017 | archive-date=19 October 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019002654/http://www.sawfishconservationsociety.org/Sawfish%20Identification.htm }}</ref> The [[Rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]] ("saw") of the largetooth sawfish has a width that is 15–25% of its length, which is relatively wide compared to the other sawfish species,<ref name=Allen1999/><ref name=SawfishCS>{{cite web |author=Whitty, J. |author2=N. Phillips |url=http://www.sawfishconservationsociety.org/microdon.htm |title=Pristis pristis (Linnaeus, 1758) |publisher=Sawfish Conservation Society |access-date=17 November 2017 |archive-date=18 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118222910/http://www.sawfishconservationsociety.org/microdon.htm }}</ref> and there are 14–24 equally separated teeth on each side of it.<ref name=LastWhite2016/>{{refn|group=note|Sawfish occasionally lose teeth during their life and these are not replaced.<ref name=Slaughter1968>{{cite journal| last1=Slaughter | first1=Bob H. | last2=Springer | first2=Stewart | year=1968 | title=Replacement of Rostral Teeth in Sawfishes and Sawsharks | journal=Copeia | volume=1968 | issue=3 | pages=499–506 | jstor=1442018 | doi=10.2307/1442018 }}</ref> Correct tooth count refers to actual teeth and [[Dental alveolus|alveoli]] ("tooth sockets") from lost teeth.<ref name=Wueringer2009>{{cite journal |author=Wueringer, B.E. |author2=L. Squire Jr |author3=S.P. Collin | year=2009 | title=The biology of extinct and extant sawfish (Batoidea: Sclerorhynchidae and Pristidae) | journal=Rev Fish Biol Fisheries | volume=19 | issue=4 | pages=445–464 | doi=10.1007/s11160-009-9112-7 |bibcode=2009RFBF...19..445W |s2cid=3352391 }}</ref>}} On average, females have shorter rostrums with fewer teeth than males.<ref name=Wueringer2009/> The rostral teeth are large and grooved from base to tip.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparison-of-the-rostral-tooth-shape-of-Pristis-microdon-and-Pristis-clavata-from-the_fig9_279542495 |title= Freshwater Sawfish Pristis microdon Latham, 1794 (Chondrichthyes: Pristidae) in the Kimberley region of Western Australia |website= researchgate}}</ref> The proportional rostrum length also varies with age, with average being around 27% of the total length of the fish,<ref name=LastWhite2016/> but can be as high as 30% in juveniles and as low as 20–22% in adults.<ref name=Wueringer2009/>
Its upperparts are generally grey to yellowish-brown, often with a clear yellow tinge to the fins.<ref name=LastWhite2016/><ref name=Kells2015>{{cite book |author=Kells, V. |author2=K. Carpenter | title=A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes from Texas to Maine | year=2015 | publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press | page=82 | isbn=978-0-8018-9838-9 }}</ref> Individuals in freshwater may have a reddish colour caused by blood suffusion below the skin.<ref name=UoFlorida/> The underside is greyish or white.<ref name=LastWhite2016/><ref name=Kells2015/>
==Distribution and habitat== [[File:Pristis pristis townsville.jpg|thumb|A largetooth sawfish in Australia, the only country that still has a relatively healthy population of this species.<ref name=IUCN/>]]
The largetooth sawfish can be found worldwide in tropical and [[Subtropics|subtropical]] coastal regions, but it also enters freshwater and has been recorded in rivers as far as {{convert|1340|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the sea.<ref name=IUCN/> Historically, its East Atlantic range was from [[Mauritania]] to [[Angola]].<ref name=IUCN/> There are old reports (last in the late 1950s or shortly after) from the [[Mediterranean]] and these have typically been regarded as [[Vagrancy (biology)|vagrants]],<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=Dulvy2014/> but a review of records strongly suggests that this sea had a breeding population.<ref name=Black2007>{{cite news | date=22 January 2015 | title=The Mediterranean's Missing Sawfishes |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/01/22/the-mediterraneans-missing-sawfishes/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109235008/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/01/22/the-mediterraneans-missing-sawfishes/ |archive-date=November 9, 2018 | access-date=9 November 2018 }}</ref> Its West Atlantic range was from [[Uruguay]] to the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]] and the [[Gulf of Mexico]].<ref name=IUCN/> Although there are claimed reports from several [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast states in the United States]], a review indicates that only those from [[Texas]] are genuine. Other specimens, notably several claimed to be from [[Florida]], were likely imported from other countries.<ref name=Seitz2018>{{cite journal | author1=Seitz, J.C. | author2=J.D. Waters | year=2018 | title=Clarifying the Range of the Endangered Largetooth Sawfish in the United States | journal=Gulf and Caribbean Research | volume=29 | issue=1 | pages=15–22 | doi=10.18785/gcr.2901.05 | bibcode=2018GCRes..29...15S | doi-access=free }}</ref> Its East Pacific range was from Peru to [[Mazatlán]] in Mexico.<ref name=IUCN/> Historically it was widespread in the Indo-Pacific, ranging from South Africa to the [[Horn of Africa]], India, Southeast Asia and [[Northern Australia]].<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=LastWhite2016/> Its total distribution covered almost {{convert|7200000|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}, more than any other species of sawfish, but it has disappeared from much of its historical range.<ref name=Dulvy2014/> The last record taken in the Mediterranean dates back to 1959.<ref>Guide of Mediterranean Skates and Rays (''Pristis pristis''). Oct. 2022. Mendez L., Bacquet A. and F. Briand. https://ciesm.org/marine/programs/skatesandrays/locally-extinct-species/</ref> A parasitic flatworm, ''Dermopristis paradoxus'', is commonly found on the skin and lining of the mouth and exclusively in Australian waters on the largetooth sawfish. The flatworm has been discovered to have a male reproductive system that lacks the copulatory organ.<ref name="Kearn2010">{{cite journal |last1=Kearn |first1=G. C. |last2=Whittington |first2=I. D. |last3=Evans-Gowing |first3=R. |date=2010 |title=A new genus and new species of microbothriid monogenean (Platyhelminthes) with a functionally enigmatic reproductive system, parasitic on the skin and mouth lining of the largetooth sawfish, Pristis microdon, in Australia |journal=Acta Parasitologica |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=115–122 |doi=10.2478/s11686-010-0019-1 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
Adults are primarily found in [[Estuary|estuaries]] and marine waters, to a depth of {{convert|25|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=DEEAustralia/> (though mostly less than {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=SawfishCS/> Nevertheless, the species does appear to have a greater affinity for freshwater habitats than the [[smalltooth sawfish]] (''P. pectinata''),<ref name=Fernandez2013/> [[green sawfish]] (''P. zijsron''),<ref>{{cite web | last=Seitz | first=J.C. |url=http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/GreenSawfish/GreenSawfish.htm |title=Green sawfish |work=Ichthyology |publisher=Florida Museum of Natural History |access-date=14 November 2017 | date=2017-05-10 }}</ref> and [[dwarf sawfish]] (''P. clavata'').<ref>{{cite web | date=2017 | title=Pristis clavata — Dwarf Sawfish, Queensland Sawfish | url=http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=68447 | publisher=[[Department of the Environment and Energy]] | access-date=18 November 2017 }}</ref> Largetooth sawfish from the population in [[Lake Nicaragua]] appear to spend most, if not all, of their life in freshwater,<ref name=IUCN/> but tagging surveys indicate that at least some do move between this lake and the sea.<ref name=SawfishCS/> Captive studies show that this [[euryhaline]] species can thrive long-term in both salt and freshwater, regardless of its age, and that an [[acclimation]] from salt to freshwater is faster than the opposite.<ref name=WhiteDuke2017>{{cite book |author=White, S. |author2=K. Duke | title=Husbandry of sawfishes |editor=Smith |editor2=Warmolts |editor3=Thoney |editor4=Hueter |editor5=Murray |editor6=Ezcurra | year=2017 | work=Elasmobranch Husbandry Manual II | publisher=Special Publication of the Ohio Biological Survey | pages=75–85 | isbn=978-0-86727-166-9 }}</ref> In captivity they are known to be agile (even swimming backwards), have an unusual ability to "climb" with the use of the pectoral fins and they can jump far out of the water; a {{convert|1.8|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} individual jumped to a height of {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=WhiteDuke2017/> It has been suggested that this may be adaptions for traversing medium-sized waterfalls and rapids when moving upriver.<ref name=WhiteDuke2017/> They are generally found in areas with a bottom consisting of sand, mud or silt.<ref name=DEEAustralia/> The preferred water temperature is between {{convert|24|and(-)|32|C|F|abbr=on}}, and {{convert|19|C|F|abbr=on}} or colder is lethal.<ref name=WhiteDuke2017/>
==Behavior and life cycle== The largetooth sawfish's maturity is reached once a length of about {{convert|2.8-3|m|ft|abbr=on}} is attained, at roughly 7–10 years old.<ref name=LastWhite2016/><ref name=DEEAustralia/> Breeding is seasonal in this [[ovoviviparous]] species, but the exact timing appears to vary depending on the region.<ref name=Nunes2016/> The adult females can breed once every 1–2 years, the gestation period is about five months,<ref name=IUCN/> and there are indications that mothers [[Natal homing|return to the region where they were born]] to give birth to their own young.<ref name=Feutry2015>{{cite journal |author=Feutry |author2=Kyne |author3=Pillans |author4=Chen |author5=Marthick |author6=Morgan |author7=Grewe | year=2015 | title=Whole mitogenome sequencing refines population structure of the Critically Endangered sawfish Pristis pristis | journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series | volume=533 | pages=237–244 | doi=10.3354/meps11354 |bibcode=2015MEPS..533..237F | doi-access=free |url=http://ecite.utas.edu.au/102490 }}</ref> There are 1–13 (average {{circa}} 7) young in each litter, which are {{convert|72-90|cm|in|abbr=on}} long at birth.<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=LastWhite2016/> They are likely typically born in salt or [[brackish]] water near river mouths, but move into freshwater where the young spend the first 3–5 years of their life,<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=DEEAustralia/><ref name=SawfishCS/> sometimes as much as {{convert|400|km|mi|abbr=on}} upriver.<ref name=LastWhite2016/> In the [[Amazon basin]] the largetooth sawfish has been reported even further upstream,<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=UniOfFloridaRecords>{{cite web | url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fish/sawfish/largetooth/global-records/ | title=Largetooth Sawfish Global Records |publisher=University of Florida | access-date=17 November 2017| date=2017-05-18 }}</ref> and this mostly involves young individuals that are up to {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} long.<ref name=Sleen2017>{{cite book |editor=van der Sleen, P. |editor2=J.S. Albert | year=2017 | title=Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas | publisher=Princeton University Press | page=69 | isbn=978-0-691-17074-9 }}</ref> Occasionally, young individuals become isolated in freshwater pools during floods and may live there for years.<ref name=DEEAustralia/> The potential lifespan of the largetooth sawfish is unknown, but four estimates suggested 30 years,<ref name=UoFlorida/> 35 years,<ref name=IUCN/> 44 years,<ref name=DEEAustralia/> and 80 years.<ref name=WhiteDuke2017/>
The largetooth sawfish is a predator that feeds on fish, [[mollusc]]s and crustaceans.<ref name=LastWhite2016/> The "saw" can be used both to stir up the bottom to find prey and to slash at groups of fish.<ref name=DEEAustralia/><ref name=UoFlorida/> Sawfish are docile and harmless to humans, except when captured where they can inflict serious injuries when defending themselves with the "saw".<ref name=UoFlorida/><ref name=WhiteDuke2017/>
==Conservation== [[File:Peixe serra.jpg|thumb|A large [[Rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]] or "saw" from a largetooth sawfish with several teeth missing (black marks on ruler are {{convert|5|cm|in|abbr=on|disp=or|0}} apart)]]
As suggested by the alternative name common sawfish, it was once plentiful, but has now declined drastically leading to it being considered a [[critically endangered]] species by the [[IUCN]].<ref name=IUCN/> The main threat is overfishing, but it also suffers from habitat loss.<ref name=IUCN/> Both their fins (used in [[shark fin soup]]) and "saw" (as novelty items) are highly valuable, and the meat is used as food.<ref name=DEEAustralia/><ref name=Dulvy2014/><ref name=BBC2007>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Black |date=11 June 2007 |title=Sawfish protection acquires teeth |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6740609.stm | access-date=11 November 2017}}</ref> Because of the "saw" they are particularly prone to becoming entangled in fishing nets.<ref name=Dulvy2014/> Historically sawfish were also harvested for the oil in their liver.<ref name=Reis2016>{{cite journal |author=Reis-Filho |author2=Freitas |author3=Loiola |author4=Leite |author5=Soeiro |author6=Oliveira |author7=Sampaio |author8=Nunes |author9=Leduc | year=2016 | title=Traditional fisher perceptions on the regional disappearance of the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis from the central coast of Brazil | journal=Endanger Species Res | volume=2 | issue=3 | pages=189–200 | doi=10.3354/esr00711 | doi-access=free }}</ref> In the [[Niger Delta]] region of southern [[Nigeria]], sawfish (known as ''oki'' in [[Ijaw languages|Ijaw]] and neighbouring languages) are traditionally hunted for their saws, which are used in [[masquerade ceremony|masquerades]].<ref name="AfricanPast">{{Cite book|title=Archaeology, language, and the African past|last=Blench|first=Roger|publisher=AltaMira Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7591-0465-5}}</ref>
The largetooth sawfish has been [[Local extinction|extirpated]] from many regions where formerly present.<ref name=Dulvy2014/> Among the 75 countries where recorded historically, it has disappeared from 28 and may have disappeared from another 27, leaving only 20 countries where certainly still present.<ref name=Dulvy2014/> In terms of area this means that it certainly survives in only 39% of its historical range.<ref name=Dulvy2014/> Only Australia still has a relatively healthy population of the species and this may be the last remaining population in the entire [[Indo-Pacific]] that is of sufficient size to be [[Minimum viable population|viable]], but even it has experienced a decline.<ref name=IUCN/> Other places in the Indo-Pacific where still present, even if in very low numbers, are off Eastern Africa, the Indian subcontinent and [[Papua New Guinea]], and in the East Pacific it survives off Central America, Colombia and northern Peru.<ref name=Dulvy2014/><ref name=Leeney2017>{{cite news |first=Ruth |last=Leeney |date=June 2017 |title=Sawfish: The King of Fishes |publisher=Save our Seas |url=https://www.saveourseasmagazine.com/sawfish-king-fishes/ | access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref> Whether it survives anywhere in Southeast Asia is generally unclear,<ref name=Dulvy2014/> but one was captured in the Philippines in 2014 (a country where otherwise considered extirpated).<ref name=Leeney2017/> The species has disappeared from much of its Atlantic range and declined where still present. The likely largest remaining population in this region is in the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] estuary, but another important population is in the [[San Juan River (Nicaragua)|San Juan River]] system in Central America.<ref name=Fernandez2013/> It was once abundant in Lake Nicaragua (part of the San Juan River system), but this population rapidly crashed during the 1970s when tens of thousands were caught. It has been protected in [[Nicaragua]] since the early 1980s, but remains rare in the lake today,<ref name=Harrison2014>{{cite book |editor=Harrison, L.R. |editor2=N.K. Dulvy | title=Sawfish: A Global Strategy for Conservation | url=http://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/document/CMS_Sharks_MOS2_Inf_10.pdf | year=2014 | publisher=IUCN Species Survival Commission's Shark Specialist Group | isbn=978-0-9561063-3-9 }}</ref> and is now threatened by the planned [[Nicaragua Canal]].<ref name=Platt2013>{{cite web| author=Platt, J.R. | title=Last Chance for Sawfish? | url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2013/07/02/last-chance-for-sawfish/ | date=2 July 2013 | publisher=Scientific American | access-date=27 November 2017 }}</ref> In West Africa, the [[Bissagos Archipelago]] has often been considered the last remaining stronghold,<ref name=Fernandez2013/> but interviews with locals indicate that sawfish now also are rare there.<ref name=Leeney2017/>
All sawfish species were added to [[CITES Appendix I]] in 2007, thereby restricting international trade.<ref name=BBC2007/> As the first marine fish, there was an attempt of having it listed under the [[Endangered Species Act]] (ESA) in 2003 by the United States [[National Marine Fisheries Service]], but it was declined.<ref name=UoFlorida/> However, it was listed as ''P. perotteti'' under the ESA in 2011.<ref name=NMFS>{{cite web | author=Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2011/07/12/2011-17502/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-endangered-status-for-the-largetooth-sawfish |title=Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Status for the Largetooth Sawfish | publisher=Federal Register | pages=40822–40836 | date=12 July 2011 | access-date=17 November 2017 }}</ref> Following taxonomic changes, the ESA listing was updated to ''P. pristis'' in December 2014.<ref name=NMFS2>{{cite web | author=Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/12/12/2014-29201/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-final-endangered-listing-of-five-species-of-sawfish |title=Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Endangered Listing of Five Species of Sawfish Under the Endangered Species Act | publisher=Federal Register | pages=73977–74005 | date=12 December 2014 | access-date=17 November 2017 }}</ref> Sawfish are protected in Australia and the United States where a number of conservation projects have been initiated,<ref name=DEEAustralia/><ref name=Dulvy2014/><ref name=WhiteDuke2017/> but the largetooth sawfish has probably already been extirpated from the latter country (last confirmed record in 1961 from [[Nueces County, Texas|Nueces]], Texas).<ref name=Fernandez2013/> Additionally it receives a level of protection in [[Bangladesh]], Brazil, [[Guinea]], India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, [[Senegal]] and South Africa, but illegal fishing continues, enforcement of fishing laws is often lacking and it has already disappeared from some of these countries.<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=Dulvy2014/>
Largetooth sawfish, especially young, are sometimes eaten by crocodiles and large sharks.<ref name=DEEAustralia/><ref name=UoFlorida/>
[[File:Sawfish.jpg|thumb|Two largetooth sawfish at the [[Shanghai Ocean Aquarium]], China]]
This species is the most numerous sawfish in [[public aquarium]]s, but it is often listed under the synonym ''P. microdon''.<ref name=WhiteDuke2017/> [[Studbook]]s included 16 individuals (10 males, 6 females) in North American aquariums in 2014, 5 individuals (3 males, 2 females) in European aquariums in 2013, and 13 individuals (6 males, 7 females) in Australian aquariums in 2017.<ref name=WhiteDuke2017/> Others are kept at public aquariums in Asia.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sawfishconservationsociety.org/Sawfish%20media%20and%20aquariums.htm | title=Sawfish in Aquariums and the Media | publisher=Sawfish Conservation Society | access-date=17 November 2017 | archive-date=8 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508192138/http://www.sawfishconservationsociety.org/Sawfish%20media%20and%20aquariums.htm }}</ref>
==See also== * [[Threatened rays]]
==Notes== {{Reflist|group=note}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|Pristis pristis}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q692258|from2=Q1094698}}
[[Category:Pristis|largetooth sawfish]] [[Category:Pantropical fish]] [[Category:Fish described in 1758|largetooth sawfish]] [[Category:Euryhaline fish of Nicaragua]] [[Category:Fish of Lake Nicaragua]] [[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|largetooth sawfish]] [[Category:ESA endangered species]] [[Category:Species that are or were threatened by habitat loss]] [[Category:Species that are or were threatened by human consumption]] [[Category:Species that are or were threatened by use as food]] [[Category:Species that are or were threatened by being bycatch]]