Sawfish use snout as tool and weapon
Researchers have shed more light on the function of sawfishes' spectacular snouts.
Australian scientists filmed captive sawfish attacking pieces of dead fish hung in the water to represent prey, sometimes powerfully enough to slash it in two.
The snouts also sense prey by detecting the weak electrical fields they produce.
Writing in the journal Current Biology, the researchers say their findings could help conserve sawfish, which are among the most threatened animals on the planet.
Footage courtesy of Dr Barbara Wueringer.
05 Mar 2012
- From the section Science & Environment