Sawfish
The dwarf and largetooth sawfish are strictly warm-water species that generally live in waters that are and respectively. The green and smalltooth sawfish also occur in colder waters, in the latter down to , as illustrated by their (original) distributions that ranged further north and south of the strictly warm-water species. Sawfish are bottom-dwellers, but in captivity it has been noted that at least the largetooth and green sawfish readily take food from the water surface. Sawfish are mostly found in places with soft bottoms such as mud or sand, but may also occur over hard rocky bottoms or at coral reefs. They are often found in areas with seagrass or mangrove.
Dwarf sawfish
This sawfish feeds mainly on fish, but also eats molluscs and crustaceans. The rostrum has large numbers of pores adapted for electroreception and is probably also used to manipulate prey. Its sensory input helps the fish move about in the muddy waters in which it often lives. Although they are sometimes found in deep water, most movements take place while the tide is either rising or falling, and movements during each tidal cycle may be up to . At high tide the fish tend to forage and rest among the mangroves.