Family PRISTIOPHORIDAE

Pristiophoridae: lateral & dorsal views

© Copyright Ros Poole.

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Introduction

The Pristiophoridae, a relatively poorly known group of sharks, comprise two genera: Pliotrema from southern Africa and Pristiophorus from the Caribbean, Australia, Arabian Gulf and the north-west Pacific. Nine species are recognised currently, with eight known from the Indo-Pacific. Four species occur in Australian waters among which two tropical species are probably undescribed (Last & Stevens 1994, 2009; Compagno 1998).

Sawsharks are found on the continental shelf and upper slope in depths of about 30 to 900 m. They are ovoviviparous and prey on fishes, crustaceans and squid. The species reach a size of about 1.5 m.

The sawsharks were treated by Springer & Bullis (1960) and Compagno (1984) who reviewed the group. Australian species are treated in Compagno (1998), Compagno et al. (2005) and Last & Stevens (2009).

General References

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125. Rome : FAO Vol. 4(1) pp. 1-249.

Compagno, L.J.V. 1998. Family Pristiophoridae. 1233 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 2 687-1396 pp.

Compagno, L.J.V., Dando, M. & Fowler, S. 2005. A Field Guide to the Sharks of the World. London : Collins 368 pp.

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls.

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp. [105]

Springer, S. & Bullis, H.R. 1960. A new species of sawshark, Pristiophorus schroederi, from the Bahamas. Bulletin of Marine Science 10(2): 241-254 figs 1-5

Common Name References

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls. [106] (Sawsharks)

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