How to ID an Extant Sawfish Rostrum

[MarcoSr]

The two extant sawfish genera are Pristis and Anoxypristis, both in the family Pristidae.   There is only a single extant Anoxypristis species, Anoxypristis cuspidata (Knifetooth or Narrow Sawfish).   There are 4 extant species of Pristis: Pristis clavata (Dwarf Sawfish), Pristis pectinata (Smalltooth Sawfish), Pristis pristis (Largetooth Sawfish), and Pristis zijsron (Green Sawfish) Last 2016.

 

I put the below species ID data together for rostrums of each species using descriptions and data directly from Last, White, de Carvalho, Seret, Stehmann, Naylor 2016 Rays of the World and from Matthew T. McDavitt 2004 Sawfish Recovery Team Meeting PowerPoint presentation.

 

The below picture and measurement descriptions describe the measurements used with the below species ID data to help determine the sawfish rostrum species ID.

 

 

 

Standard Rostral Length (SRL) –rostrum length from the anterior tip to posterior edge of posterior most rostral teeth.

 

Rostral Width Posterior (RWP) –rostrum width at the posterior edge of posterior most rostral teeth.

 

Inter-tooth Space Anterior (ISA)-distance between the posterior edge of the first rostral tooth and the anterior edge of the second rostral tooth.

 

Inter-tooth space posterior (ISP) - distance between the anterior edge of the last rostral tooth and the posterior edge of the next to last tooth.

 

Note that the colors given for a species rostrum in the species ID data below is not a reliable identification feature as the preservatives used during taxidermy and aging can change the colors.  As an example the ventral sides of all living sawfish rostrums is white to whitish.  Yet pretty much every taxidermy rostrum that I see has a yellowish to light brownish ventral color.  Also pictures can really distort the colors especially when using flash.  You need to see the rostrum in natural light for the best color representation.

 

 

Anoxypristis cuspidata (Narrow Sawfish)

 

ID data:

 

 

 

Anoxypristis rostral teeth features are noticeably different from Pristis species rostral teeth features.   So it is fairly easy to tell an Anoxypristis rostrum from a Pristis species rostrum by the teeth alone.

 

Below is an Anoxypristis tooth showing a blade-like, flattened and broadly triangular tooth with a sharp posterior edge that is not grooved Last 2016:

 

 

 

Below is a Pristis pristis rostral tooth showing a peg-like, flattened and elongate, rostral tooth Last 2016 (all Pristis rostral teeth) with a clearly visible posterior groove (the posterior groove can vary between young and adult Pristis sawfish and between Pristis species, see the species ID data for each Pristis species):

 

 

 

Here is an Anoxypristis cuspidata rostrum from my collection with 18/20 rostral teeth on each side of the rostrum and (ISA= 5 mm, ISP= 27 mm, ISP/ISA= 5.4, SRL= 315 mm, RWP= 33 mm, SRL/RWP= 9.5) measurements:

 

         

 

 

To see more pictures of this rostrum including close-up pictures of the rostral teeth and placoid scales checkout my TFF post below:

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/83865-extant-anoxypristis-cuspidata-knifetooth-or-narrow-sawfish-rostrum/&tab=comments#comment-895466

 

 

Pristis clavata (Dwarf Sawfish)

 

ID data:

 

 

 

Here is a male and a female Pristis clavata rostrum from Matthew T. McDavitt 2004 Sawfish Recovery Team Meeting PowerPoint presentation with 22/21+1mmissing and 22/23 rostral teeth on each side of the rostrum respectively:

 

 

 

 

Pristis pectinata (Smalltooth Sawfish)

 

ID data:

 

 

 

Here is a juvenile Pristis pectinata rostrum from my collection with 23+2missing/25+2missing rostral teeth on each side of the rostrum and (ISA= 6 mm, ISP= 16 mm, ISP/ISA= 2.66, SRL= 237 mm, RWP= 35 mm SRL/RWP= 6.77) measurements:

 

         

 

Edit:  The rostral teeth on this rostrum are smooth, without a posterior groove.  That is a rostral tooth trait of young Pristis pectinata sawfish per Last, White, de Carvalho, Seret, Stehmann, Naylor 2016 Rays of the World.  The below picture shows a first anterior rostral tooth (10 mm) on this rostrum that is smooth, without a posterior groove.

 

 

 

To see more pictures of this rostrum including close-up pictures of the rostral teeth and placoid scales checkout my TFF post below:

 

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/86239-extant-pristis-pectinata-smalltooth-sawfish-rostrum/&tab=comments#comment-932077

 

 

Here is an adult Pristis pectinata rostrum from my collection with 24/26 rostral teeth on each side of the rostrum and (ISA= 17 mm, ISP= 55 mm, ISP/ISA= 3.23, SRL= 33.5 inches, RWP= 5 inches, SRL/RWP= 6.7) measurements:

 

         

 

 

 

Pristis pristis (Largetooth Sawfish)

 

ID data:

 

 

 

Here is a Pristis pristis rostrum from my collection with 18/19 rostral teeth on each side of the rostrum and (ISP= 24 mm, ISA= 19 mm, ISP/ISA = 1.26, SRL= 18.25 inches, RWP= 3.5 inches, SRL/RWP= 5.21) measurements:

 

         

 

 

To see more pictures of this rostrum including close-up pictures of the rostral teeth and placoid scales checkout my TFF post below:

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/91526-extant-pristis-pristis-largetooth-sawfish-rostrum/

 

 

 

Pristis zijsron (Green Sawfish)

 

ID data:

 

 

 

Here is a Pristis zijsron rostrum with 23/25 rostral teeth on each side of the rostrum and (SRL= 109 cm, RWP= 13 cm, SRL/RWP= 8.38, ISA= 1.5 cm, ISP= 9 cm, ISP/ISA= 6) measurements:

 

          

 

 

 

If you use the species ID data in this post you should be able to figure out the species of your sawfish rostrum.  Note that you need to go through all of the ID data items for a reliable ID because there is overlap of a number of the ID data items among the different species.

 

Marco Sr.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I used to have one, but sold it before I moved to Morocco. 

However this post is excellent, as usual.  

[ynot]

Wonderful and informative thread Marco!

Thanks for all the information You provide here.

[MarcoSr]

2 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

I used to have one, but sold it before I moved to Morocco. 

However this post is excellent, as usual.  

 

If you still had your rostrum hopefully you could confirm the species ID if you already knew it or determine the species ID if you didn't know it from this post.

 

Marco Sr.

 

57 minutes ago, ynot said:

Wonderful and informative thread Marco!

Thanks for all the information You provide here.

 

Tony

 

I put this ID data together so I could ID an extant sawfish rostrum to a species.  I thought I would share the ID data to help others who were also having trouble with the species ID of extant sawfish rostrums.

 

Marco Sr.

[Herb]

that is a wicked looking blade, I would not want to be on the receiving end of that

[MarcoSr]

2 hours ago, Herb said:

that is a wicked looking blade, I would not want to be on the receiving end of that

 

Herb

 

These rostrums can get really large.  For example a Pristis pristis sawfish can reach a total length of at least 656 cm and possibly over 700 cm (23 feet) Last 2016.  Their rostrum is roughly 27% of total length Last 2016.  So a Pristis pristis rostrum could reach 189 cm (6.2 feet).  However not only has over fishing decimated sawfish populations worldwide but it has also removed a lot of these very large sawfish.

Marco Sr.

[Peat Burns]

This is great.  I have one collected in the 1800s (no, I didn't collect it personally) that I'll have to work on using your info.

[MarcoSr]

2 hours ago, Peat Burns said:

This is great.  I have one collected in the 1800s (no, I didn't collect it personally) that I'll have to work on using your info.

 

If you have trouble with the ID, PM me and maybe I can help.

 

Marco Sr.

[Peat Burns]

27 minutes ago, MarcoSr said:

 

If you have trouble with the ID, PM me and maybe I can help.

 

Marco Sr.

Will do.  Thank you.

[Herb]

some tribes used them  as battle weapons

[Jesuslover340]

On 1/16/2019 at 7:56 AM, MarcoSr said:

 

Herb

 

These rostrums can get really large.  For example a Pristis pristis sawfish can reach a total length of at least 656 cm and possibly over 700 cm (23 feet) Last 2016.  Their rostrum is roughly 27% of total length Last 2016.  So a Pristis pristis rostrum could reach 189 cm (6.2 feet).  However not only has over fishing decimated sawfish populations worldwide but it has also removed a lot of these very large sawfish.

 

 

Marco Sr.

 

A bit of a reach from 189cm, but here's a 110cm one you might appreciate:

[Coco]

Hi,

 

Thank you for bringing up this interesting old subject.

 

Here are two small rostrums that I didn’t put on at the time because I didn’t make the photos. One is almost identified, the other not.

 

@MarcoSr

 

 

The second one is probably a juvenile rostrum.

 

Coco

[MarcoSr]

7 hours ago, Jesuslover340 said:

 

A bit of a reach from 189cm, but here's a 110cm one you might appreciate:

 

Really nice specimen.  With 19 rostral teeth per side, the specimen is either a Pristis clavata (Dwarf Sawfish)  or Pristis pristis (Largetooth Sawfish) rostrum.

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

12 hours ago, Coco said:

Hi,

 

Thank you for bringing up this interesting old subject.

 

Here are two small rostrums that I didn’t put on at the time because I didn’t make the photos. One is almost identified, the other not.

 

@MarcoSr

 

 

The second one is probably a juvenile rostrum.

 

Coco

 

Really nice.  I really like sawshark rostrums.  Below is a figure from Ebert Wilms 2013 Pristiophorus lanae sp. nov., a new sawshark species from the Western North Pacific which shows the rostrums of the seven Pristiophorus species.

 

 

 

 

 

That juvenile sawfish rostrum has an unusual shape to the cartilage.  I've never seen one shaped like that before.  With 18 rostral teeth per side, the specimen is either a Pristis clavata (Dwarf Sawfish)  or Pristis pristis (Largetooth Sawfish) rostrum.

 

Marco Sr.

[Coco]

9 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

That juvenile sawfish rostrum has an unusual shape to the cartilage.  I've never seen one shaped like that before.  With 18 rostral teeth per side, the specimen is either a Pristis clavata (Dwarf Sawfish)  or Pristis pristis (Largetooth Sawfish) rostrum.

 

Marco Sr.

When I saw the cartilage, I wondered if it wasn’t an embryo...

 

Thanks Marco for the publication reference.

 

Coco

[Jesuslover340]

10 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

 

Really nice specimen.  With 19 rostral teeth per side, the specimen is either a Pristis clavata (Dwarf Sawfish)  or Pristis pristis (Largetooth Sawfish) rostrum.

 

Marco Sr.

 

Thanks. This one was caught in a river (probably the Daly) in the Northern Territory in 1972. I suspect it to be a Pristis pristis, given the spacing between the first set of rostral teeth and second set of rostral teeth.

[Jesuslover340]

Just now, Coco said:

When I saw the cartilage, I wondered if it wasn’t an embryo...

 

Thanks Marco for the publication reference.

 

Coco

 

They are initially born with a cartilaginous sheath that fully encloses the rostral teeth, but within about a week, this disintegrates (just recently watched a couple videos on sawfish conservation efforts). So perhaps your specimen shows this intermediate period?

[Coco]

I hesitate between Pristioporus lanae and P. cirratus, the images are not very clear, but I think my rostrum is closer to the 1st. I say that without looking at the distribution of species, but I don’t know where it comes from anyway.

 

Coco

[MarcoSr]

21 hours ago, Jesuslover340 said:

 

They are initially born with a cartilaginous sheath that fully encloses the rostral teeth, but within about a week, this disintegrates (just recently watched a couple videos on sawfish conservation efforts).

 

It makes sense that the rostral teeth of an unborn sawfish are fully enclosed in a cartilaginous sheath to protect the sawfish mother from being injured by them.

 

Unfortunately, sawfish are terribly endangered.  If I was able to do a do-over, I wouldn't own any sawfish rostrums or jaws.

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

2 hours ago, Coco said:

I hesitate between Pristioporus lanae and P. cirratus, the images are not very clear, but I think my rostrum is closer to the 1st. I say that without looking at the distribution of species, but I don’t know where it comes from anyway.

 

Coco

 

When I tried to ID my Pristiophorus rostrums, I looked at the rostrum pictures and read the text descriptions of the rostrums over and over again, and I still wasn't 100% sure of my IDs either.

 

Marco Sr.

[siteseer]

On 3/13/2022 at 2:12 PM, MarcoSr said:

 

It makes sense that the rostral teeth of an unborn sawfish are fully enclosed in a cartilaginous sheath to protect the sawfish mother from being injured by them.

 

Unfortunately, sawfish are terribly endangered.  If I was able to do a do-over, I wouldn't own any sawfish rostrums or jaws.

 

Marco Sr.

 

Right.  Years ago, when I saw a rostrum for sale, I decided not to buy it.  I have an interest in sawfishes but I don't need it.  If I had bought it, it might have encouraged someone else to buy one.  I saw an episode of "River Monsters" (Discovery Channel) in which the host encounters a large sawfish in Western Australia.  They seem to be endangered all over their range.

 

 

[Jesuslover340]

4 hours ago, siteseer said:

 

Right.  Years ago, when I saw a rostrum for sale, I decided not to buy it.  I have an interest in sawfishes but I don't need it.  If I had bought it, it might have encouraged someone else to buy one.  I saw an episode of "River Monsters" (Discovery Channel) in which the host encounters a large sawfish in Western Australia.  They seem to be endangered all over their range.

 

 

They are indeed quite endangered now. If anyone sees ours or we share it, we always educate how endangered they are now and that ours was caught in a time when mentalities were focused on ridding them because they were a nuisance vs the conservation focus they should have always had. We also take the mindset that history is history when it comes to owning such a piece. What's done is done. The specimen never should have come about the way it did, but it would also be a waste to let it rot when it can be used for educational purposes. I feel it serves a greater good to highlight WHY these animals need to be conserved than it would to be rotting in someone's shed or as someone's trophy. As said, it is not seen or showed without explaining the unfortunate history behind it and conservation efforts now (and why such is needed). We haven't had any issue with people agreeing with us and walking away knowing just a bit more about how their mentality can impact a species.

 

In other words, we have ours because we feel even unfortunate pieces of history have a tale that needs to be told and even those pieces should be preserved. History isn't always glorious, but how else do we learn from our mistakes?

 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Jesuslover340