Smalltooth Sawfish
Smalltooth Sawfish are found in tropical and sub-tropical areas in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. They live in shallow water around river mouths and freshwater systems, moving between freshwater and saltwater. They are related to sharks and stingrays, and can grow to over 6 metres in length!
Smalltooth Sawfish
Marvel at the incredible new Smalltooth Sawfish in the Great Barrier Reef at Sydney Aquarium.
These distinctive animals have a long saw-like extension called a rostrum or snout. Sawfish use their snout to find their prey as their eyesight is quite poor. The Smalltooth Sawfish uses its heavily toothed saw to swing at prey. This stuns or kills small schooling fishes and prawns which it can then feed on.
Unfortunately, these amazing animals are critically endangered all over the world. There are many factors that have led to the critically endangered status of the sawfish. These include net fishing, by-catch, gillnet fishing, indigenous harvest, habitat modification, 'trophy' fishing and finning. The shark fin trade is a serious threat to the survival of sawfish and sharks worldwide.
Come in to the Sydney Aquarium to see these rare and allusive animals in the Great Barrier Reef oceanarium.