Sawshark
The Bahamas sawsharks ("Pristiophorus schroeder") have very little information on them. Studies are being done daily to learn more about the deep sea dweller. They are located near Cuba, Florida, and the Bahamas (hence their name) where they dwell in the depths of 400–1000 m. As far as their appearance they can be identified by their snouts with teeth which appear as a saw, as well as their length, they are averaged at 80 cm in length.
Saw sharks and sawfish are cartilaginous fish possessing large saws. These are the only two fish that have a long blade-like snout. Although they are similar in appearances, saw sharks are distinct from sawfish. Sawfish are not sharks, but a type of ray. The gill slits of the sawfishes are positioned on the underside like a ray, but the gill slits of the saw shark are positioned on the side like a shark. Sawfish can have a much larger size, lack barbels, and have evenly sized teeth rather than alternating teeth of the saw shark. Clear difference is that a sawfish has no barbels and a saw shark has a prominent pair halfway along the saw. The saw shark uses these like other bottom fish, as a kind of antennae, feeling the way along the ocean bottom until it finds some prey of interest. Both the saw shark and the sawfish utilize the electroreceptors on the saw, ampullae of Lorenzini, to detect the electric field given off by buried prey.
Sawshark
The longnose sawshark aka the common sawshark ("Pristiophorus cirratus") is one of 9 species within the family Pristiophoridae. It has unique physical characteristics which include a long, thin, and flattened snout. Midway down the snout, nasal barbels protrude on both sides of the snout. Near the barbels, the longnose sawshark possesses a pair of ampullae of Lorenzini. It is unique among the sawshark family by having a longer snout than any of its counter species. The longnose sawshark is not very large with lengths ranging from around 14 inches at birth to 38 inches in males and 44 inches in females. They can also grow to a weight of 18.7 pounds. They are known to swim in the waters off the southern coast of Australia’s continental shelf. They can also be found in the eastern portion of the Indian Ocean. The longnose sawshark prefers to swim in both the open sea and coastal regions at a depth range of about 120–480 feet. The longnose Sawshark is known to prey on small teleost fish, crustaceans, and small squids. It uses its barbels to detect prey on the ocean floor which it then hits with its snout to immobilize it. Like the other members of the Pristiophorus family, the common sawshark can be identified by a long snout with rows of small teeth and barbels on either side. It has five gill slits on either side of its head and between 19 and 25 teeth on each side.