Wide Saw Fish

The saw (rostrum) bears about 24 – 34 pairs of lateral teeth and is used to stun prey by slashing it side ways through schools of small fishes and to dig in the bottom to expose prey such as mollusks and crustaceans. It is also used effectively in self-defense as injuries found on sharks suggest. Gravid females are protected from the rostral teeth of fetuses by a protective membrane. Also the “saw” is flexible at birth, soon becoming rigid.

Mediterranean to Morocco south to South Africa.