The fish saw. Sawfish (lat

This inhabitant of the oceans stands out among others in that on his head he has a bone growth with jaggedness, which really resembles a saw and makes up about a quarter of the total body length.

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

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

You can distinguish them by the way the gills are located: in the sawfish, like in all rays, the gill slits are at the bottom of the head, and in sawnose sharks - on the sides. Moreover, saw fish in size it is much larger than sawnose sharks.

This fish species is listed in the international Red Book and lives in the coastal areas of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea. Saw flies, 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 saw snout does not lay eggs, but reproduces by ovoviviparity. One Sawfish female is capable of giving birth to fifteen to twenty cubs at a time. Moreover, while they are still in the womb, their "saw" is completely covered with skin.

It is almost impossible to meet a sawfish in the open ocean. For its habitat, it chose coastal areas, and sometimes it enters the shallows, and then you can observe the dorsal fins sticking out of the water.

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

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

However, there is also evidence that saws can be used by the sawmill not only as a shovel, but also as a kind of saber. There are numerous testimonies of how these bottom fish quickly burst into schools of sardines or mullets, and how real swordsmen hit their prey with a saw, which they calmly eat after it sinks to the bottom. The sawfish became so famous for its unusual appearance. Earlier there was even a legend that she was able to saw through 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 meeting with it, it often tries to hide as quickly as possible.

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

Large-toothed sawfish (Pristis perotteti) are now firmly established in the inland waters of their habitat. For example, the population in Lake Nicaragua appears to be entirely freshwater and may be a distinct species from the sawnose rays found in the waters along the coasts of Central America.

Like many sharks, saw rays produce litters of live young. In the body of a pregnant female of this fish, caught off the coast of Sri Lanka, there were 23 fry. To make the process of pregnancy and childbirth not so painful, the teeth of the fry are covered with a protective shell, and the stigmas remain soft and flexible until the offspring are released.

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

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

Unlike other stingrays, the sawfish lacks a thorn on its tail fin. Some confuse these rays with the pylon sharks, on which they are very similar. How can you tell them apart? Everything is very simple. In sharks, gills are located along the edges of the head, while in stingrays they are located below. In addition, in the latter, the body is flattened, 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 sawnose rays from sawnose 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 hiding from the silt and sand. Besides 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 violently begins to swing the "saw" from side to side. After that, he calmly sinks to the bottom and swallows the wounded or "sawn" fish. For humans, this fish is perfectly safe.

This inhabitant of the oceans differs from all others in that on her head there is a bone growth with jagged edges, which actually resembles a saw. Moreover, this growth is about a quarter of the entire body length of this fish.

The sawfish belongs to the family of stingrays, to be precise, its biological name is the common sawfish, the Latin name is Pristidae. There are two fins on its back, one more on the tail. It is noteworthy that the sawfish does not have a thorn that most other rays have.

The skin of the sawfish (and this is its similarity to sharks) is covered with placoid scales. Outwardly, they are similar to sawnose sharks, which is why these fish are often confused with each other, although they belong to completely different families of fish.

They differ in the location of the gills: in the sawfish, the gill openings, like in all rays, are located at the bottom of the head, in contrast to the sawnose sharks, in which they are located on the sides of the head. And the size of the saw-fish is much larger than the saw-nosed sharks.

According to ichthyologists, the length of the sawmill can reach almost five meters, but according to the testimony of some fishermen, which is not documented, they also came across larger specimens about six meters long.

The habitat of these fish (by the way, listed in the International Red Book) is the coastal part of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. Those sawnuts that live along the shores of the American continent migrate from south to north in summer, and vice versa from north to south in autumn.

Representatives of this species of fish do not lay eggs, but reproduce by egg production. Only at one time, a Sawfish female can give birth to about fifteen to twenty cubs. While they are in the womb, their "saws" are completely covered by the skin.

Sawfish are not found in the open ocean, they are more familiar with coastal areas. There are times when these fish enter the shallows, which makes it possible to observe their dorsal fins sticking out of the water.

It happens that the sawfish enters large rivers that flow into the ocean. But some members of this family, for example, the Australian sawdore, thrive in fresh water so well that they live in Australian rivers all the time.

The diet of sawmails most often includes various small animals, whose habitat is silt and sand covering the bottom. It is here that the fish is helped by its saw, thanks to which it obtains its own food. With the help of their saw, these members of the stingray family loosen the bottom soil, thereby digging out of it those who will soon become a sawfish dinner.

But there is evidence of a less peaceful use of this fish's saw. Fishermen have repeatedly observed how an ordinary bottom sawfish burst into a flock of mullet or sardines, while with the dexterity of a swordsman, they struck gape fish with their saw, which they then calmly ate, waiting for the catch to sink to the bottom.

It was the peculiar appearance of the sawfish that made it so famous. In the old days, there was a legend according to which a sawfish could cut a wooden ship. It was this legend that served as the reason that even experienced sailors were afraid of meeting the sawfish. But in fact, this fish does not pose any danger to humans, moreover, at the sight of it, like most of its other stingrays, it will try to quickly disappear from the field of vision.

The scientific name of this creature is the ordinary saw. The sawfish belongs to the family of cartilaginous fish (like the shark) and to the superorder of rays. This creation received its name and wide popularity due to its appearance. The sawfish has an elongated body, strikingly similar to a shark, but perhaps the most striking external feature that distinguishes it from other fish and rays is the so-called "saw" - a long and flat outgrowth of the snout, on the sides of which there are sharp teeth of the same size. It is curious that this "saw" is almost a quarter of the body length of the entire fish! The skin of the sawfish has various shades of olive-gray, and the belly is almost white.

On the shark-like body of the sawfish there are 2 fins on each side and 2 dorsal fins of a triangular shape. In some species of sawnose rays, the tail part smoothly passes into the body, merging with it, but there are also those species in which the tail and body are divided into two sections by the caudal fin. It is curious that the similarity of these fish with sharks does not end only with the shape of their body: sawnails, like sharks, have skin covered with placoid scales. Currently, only 7 species of sawnose rays are known: green, Atlantic, European, fine-toothed, Australian, Asian and comb.

Where does the sawfish live?

Sawfish feels comfortable in both fresh and salt waters, and lives in all oceans with the exception of the Arctic. A favorite place for saw-cut rays is coastal waters. This creature is difficult to find in the open oceans. Sawfish love to bask in shallow water. It is curious that 5 of the 7 currently known species of sawmills live off the coast of Australia. The Australian species of sawmills has long been accustomed to freshwater bodies without swimming into the ocean. The only place where sawn rays cannot live is water polluted with various debris and waste.

Sawfish and Pylon Shark are not the same thing!

Saw rays are often confused with sawnose sharks. They are not the same fish! Of course, sharks are the closest relatives of stingrays, since they belong to the same family of cartilaginous fish, but they are two different species of underwater animals. The snout of the pylon-nosed shark is elongated and flattened, similar to a sword, and studded with large teeth. This creature lives in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Pilonos are bottom and sluggish fish that feed on small fish and small bottom animals.

Sawfish are considered to be larger fish than pylon-noses. A case is described when a saw-fish weighing 2400 kg and a length of 6 m was caught! For comparison: pylon-noses rarely grow up to 1.5 m in length. Sawmills, like their "comrades-in-arms", feed on small animals living in the ground. They dig them out of the silt with their "saw", using it both as a shovel and as a rake. Often, the sawfish wields its nose, like a saber or a sword, bursting into a flock of small mullets or sardines, and then swallows "defeated" enemies.

Sawfish - ovoviviparous fish

Sawfish belong to ovoviviparous fish: their young are born as fully formed fish, but in the shell of a leathery egg. Zoologists who have observed saw-nosed rays have found that their females can give birth to up to 20 fry at a time! The "saw" in these fry is formed in the womb, but their stigma is still very soft, and the teeth are completely hidden by the skin and harden only with time. By the way, in the same way

The endless latitudes of the ocean contain a very large number of different inhabitants. They differ from each other in interesting shapes, bizarre names, colors and naturally external features. Let's single out several inhabitants of the depths of the sea, which have interesting properties and external features - a sawfish. The full name of the fish is common saw(from Lat. Pristidae).

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

Quite often, sawfish are confused with the so-called sawnose sharks. The thing is that outwardly they are very similar and in both the skin consists of placoid scales;
The saw fish was listed in the Red Book;
Basically, these fish live on the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea;
Representatives of this species give birth to fully formed children who are in an egg, they have never laid eggs;
It is absolutely impossible to find it in the open ocean, but it feels great on coastal areas;
Sometimes they fall into large rivers that flow into the ocean and remain inhabiting them;
They feed on very small animals that live on the bottom of sand or silt;
There has long been a legend that a fish saw could easily cut through an entire wooden ship;
The meat of this fish usually does not receive special attention due to its toughness;
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 rather big, about 300 kg;
Fish are born with a long and soft saw, covered with small teeth, and its length in adults is approximately 100-120 cm;
The saw is her main weapon, as she sometimes gets her food;
It poses no danger to humans;
In nature, there is not only a fish sawing like a shark, but also like a stingray;
Many cultures have used the basic sawfish image as a tribal symbol (Aztecs);
The saw-cutter is the main symbol of the West African central bank;
We can see the sawfish in the blue puppy cartoon;
Pregnancy of a female fish lasts for 5 months and the offspring reaches 14-15 individuals;
The saw of a fish is very sensitive to the electric field, which is formed as a result of the movement of potential prey, and in this case it is easier for it to hunt, therefore this species can be classified as dangerous and dexterous predators;
Scientists have proven that some types 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 due to the fact that this species is disappearing, and nature helps to restore the natural balance). Recently, such a reproduction process has been spreading and occurs quite often.

Differences between saw shark and saw ray

Let's take a look at some of the important differences between these species, as they often confuse even the most seasoned explorers.

The saw shark does not have significant dimensions in comparison with the saw-nosed rays (6 m or more), their length, together with the tool, is only about 1.5 m;
Another significant difference involves the finding of the gill slits in the shark on both sides of the body, in the stingrays in the lower part of the body;
These species are also distinguished by the presence and shape of fins - in sharks they look separated from the body, and in stingrays they are distinguished by a smooth transition to the body;
Another significant difference relates directly to the "instrument" 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. On the other hand, in skates, the "saw" is very accurate, of the same size and the teeth have the same structure and shape;
An interesting fact - in sawnose sharks, broken teeth are restored over time, and in stingrays they do not grow back even after minor damage;
Sharks grow long whiskers on the "tool", which the stingray does not have;
Sharks move with the help of a well-known fin, so it is very easy to distinguish it from a stingray, which moves with wavy body 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 the sawnose stingrays.

The main use of the fish "tool"

Fish of this species use their weapons at all stages of the hunt and capture of their potential victims. They strike animals with their electric weapons and thrust their prey onto teeth that run the length of the saw. The speed of their movements is simply elusive. They are dexterous with 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 that live in the depths of the ocean. It is not difficult for them to find and grab prey that was several water layers higher than them.

Now these listed interesting facts about the life of fish of various species will help even the most inexperienced ichthyologists easily find the distinctive features between them. The most important difference between them is already visible to the naked eye - it is hidden in their different names. It is believed that the sawfish, thanks to its tool, is very clumsy, but having paid attention to the way they hunt, prey and dexterity, thanks to the same tool, this myth was simply dispelled.

The tropical waters are teeming with amazing creatures. One of them is the sawfish. Reaching a very impressive size with a frightening appearance, it has long been the object of legends and various fictions. For example, that with its unusual growth on the head it easily saws ships. An absolutely baseless invention. Let's take a closer look.

What does a sawfish look like?

Focusing solely on appearance, many believe that this is such a kind of shark. But in reality, it belongs to the family of Saw-snout rays (class Cartilaginous fish), in which at the present stage there are only seven representatives. These are Asian sawnuts, fine-toothed, Australian (or Queensland), comb, European (the largest in size - up to 7 m), Atlantic and green. The sawfish has a shark-like elongated body. It is covered with placoid scales and has two dorsal and one caudal fins. The body color is olive-gray, but can vary depending on the species and habitat, the belly is light, almost white. A distinctive and outstanding feature is the so-called "saw", or rather the outgrowth of the snout. It is long and flat, with identical teeth on the sides. They give it the appearance of a saw. And if we talk about the length, then it is about ¼ of the entire body size of the fish. Considering that some individuals can reach 7.5 meters, the sawtooth outgrowth is up to 2 m, and this is a rather impressive and frightening weapon.

Sawfish habitat

It is an inhabitant of coastal tropical waters of three oceans: Atlantic, Pacific and Indian. In addition, it is sometimes found in the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of America. This is explained by seasonal migrations. Sometimes it swims into the mouths of rivers. In them, the sawfish (photo) also feels quite comfortable, only it does not tolerate anthropogenic water pollution at all. Five of the seven species live in the waters of Australia, and one (Queensland) has completely adapted to life in a fresh environment, and no longer swims into the ocean. The sawmill is an inhabitant of shallow water, and very often you can see its body in clear water or determine its location by its fin above the water, because of which it is often confused with a shark.

The sawmill is a predator, and a rather dangerous one. Lacking sharp teeth like a shark's, he can severely cripple his snout. There are two ways to get food. The first (predominant) one is collecting small invertebrates from the bottom and from the sand. The "saw" allows the fish to rip apart the soil like a shovel, thus obtaining food. The second way is more aggressive. Bursting into schools of fish (sardines, mullet), the stingray begins to actively swing its "saw" in different directions for some time. Then it sinks to the bottom and collects crippled or cut prey. For a person, a sawfish does not pose a danger, rather the opposite, but purposefully anger it is still not worth it.

Reproduction of sawn rays

The sawmill is an ovoviviparous fish. This means that the egg develops in the mother's body, and at birth, the baby is as if enveloped in a dense shell. Nevertheless, he is already quite viable and independent. Saw rays can give birth to up to twenty fry. The "saw" in young individuals is quite soft, strength and hardness is acquired only with time. When babies are in the womb, all the teeth are hidden by the skin and open only when they are born.

Saw shark: what's the difference?

She, like the saw, belongs to the class of Cartilaginous fish. However, it is a representative of another family, namely the Saw Sharks. The sawfish differs from it in the following external features (not to mention the anatomical differences):

Dimensions (edit)... The first species is much larger, there were specimens with a length exceeding six meters, while the sawnose shark reaches 1.5 m at best.
The location of the gill slits. So, they are at the bottom of the sawmill, and at the sides of the shark.
Fin shape. In the first species, they are streamlined, smoothly turning into the lines of the body, and in the second, they are clearly expressed;
Differences are also observed in the structure of the "saw" itself. At the sawmill, it is more accurate and even in width along the entire length, the same applies to the notches on it. In a shark, the outgrowth narrows, while it will be interesting to know that the denticles are capable of regeneration when damaged, but not in stingrays;
By the nature of the movement. The first moves smoothly, in waves; the shark makes sharp movements, mainly with the help of the tail fin.

It should be added that the sawfish is not a commercial fish, although it is edible. Once caught in the net, it is more likely to go for a trophy than for food. But the sawnose shark has tasty meat and is considered, for example, a delicacy in Japan.

Now this inhabitant of the ocean shallow water is listed in the International Red Book, and the reason for this is man. With anthropogenic pollution of coastal waters, the sawmill simply has nowhere to live.