Pristis pristis

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	CHONDRICHTHYES	RAJIFORMES	PRISTIDAE

Scientific Name:

Pristis pristis

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Common Sawfish, Common Sawfish

Synonym/s:

Squalus pristis Linnaeus, 1758

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered A2abc+3cd ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2005

Assessor/s

Cook, S.F. & Compagno, L.J.V.

Evaluator/s:

Musick, J.A. & Fowler, S.L. (Shark Red List Authority)

Justification:
The Common Sawfish (Pristis pristis) is alarge species of sawfish that was once common in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic. It has been extirpated from the Mediterranean and European sections of its range and is believed to be severely depleted in Africa.

History:

2000	–	Critically Endangered
1996	–	Endangered

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	A sketchily-known large sawfish of the Mediterranean (where it no longer occurs) and eastern Atlantic. It has been recorded from Portugal south to Angola and possibly to Namibia (Fowler 1936, Bigelow and Schroeder 1953b, Krefft and Stehmann 1973, Stehmann and Burkel 1984, Stehmann 1990, Compagno and Cook 1995a). Freshwater records of Common Sawfish are from Mali or Senegal in the Faleme River and possibly Gambia in the Gambia River (Compagno and Cook 1995a).
Countries:	Native: Angola; Benin; Cameroon; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Morocco; Nigeria; Panama; Portugal; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Togo; Western Sahara
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic – northeast; Atlantic – eastern central; Mediterranean and Black Sea; Pacific – southeast

Population [top]

Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Very little is known of this misnamed sawfish, which is actually quite rare. All sawfishes are ovoviviparous, but little else is known of the reproductive biology of the Common Sawfish. Its size at maturity is unknown, but its maximum length is about 5 m. Mature specimens are generally lacking in collections, small specimens are rare and isolated saws attributed to the species may be misidentified members of the Pristis microdon group. Virtually all aspects of its biology could benefit from additional field collections and museum preparations.
Systems:	Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Very little is known of this misnamed sawfish, which is actually quite rare. All sawfishes are ovoviviparous, but little else is known of the reproductive biology of the Common Sawfish. Its size at maturity is unknown, but its maximum length is about 5 m. Mature specimens are generally lacking in collections, small specimens are rare and isolated saws attributed to the species may be misidentified members of the Pristis microdon group. Virtually all aspects of its biology could benefit from additional field collections and museum preparations.

Systems:

Freshwater; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Common sawfish is presumably caught in inshore fisheries with net and line gear set for other species. It lives in places subject to heavy artisanal and commercial fisheries and will tend to be taken incidentally wherever it occurs. Some West African populations of sawfishes have recently been heavily depleted as a result of increased coastal elasmobranch fisheries effort (Mathieu Ducroq in litt.).

Major Threat(s):

Common sawfish is presumably caught in inshore fisheries with net and line gear set for other species. It lives in places subject to heavy artisanal and commercial fisheries and will tend to be taken incidentally wherever it occurs. Some West African populations of sawfishes have recently been heavily depleted as a result of increased coastal elasmobranch fisheries effort (Mathieu Ducroq in litt.).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	There are currently no management or conservation measures in place for this species.

Conservation Actions:

There are currently no management or conservation measures in place for this species.

Citation:	Cook, S.F. & Compagno, L.J.V. 2005. Pristis pristis. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 10 February 2010.
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