But historically, sawfishes were extensive and impressive enough to inspire an extensive mythology and acquire religious significance among tribal societies, particularly in Central America, West Africa, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. Sawfishes figure prominently in paintings in Thai Buddhist temples and appear in Islamic art in Indonesia. In the late 1700s, sawfish were so common in the United States that one fisherman reportedly took 300 sawfishes from a Florida river system in a single season. Sawfish have also disappeared from the waters around Sri Lanka and the Philippines and have been in severe decline for the past 35 years in the waters of Nicaragua, Panama, and Guatemala. Rare Rays Seven species of sawfishes occur in two genera with worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate waters.
Sawfishes use their saws to root out and impale their fish prey.
Like sharks, sawfishes have cartilaginous skeletons. Although they look and swim like sharks, they are actually more closely related to the rays. Sawfish live in shallow marine and freshwater habitats, usually within a mile of the shore in water less than 30 feet deep. They enter estuarine environments to give birth to about 15 to 20 young per year. The largest, the smalltooth, the most common sawfish in U.S. waters, have been recorded as long as 18 feet.