Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01763:reg:2:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01763
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2 (pt 1/5)
Character Range: 8466–11640

2                  Background

     2.1                Species description
The five species of tropical riverine, estuarine and marine elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) covered by this plan are:
       * Largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) [previously known as the freshwater sawfish, Pristis microdon]
       * Green sawfish (Pristis zijsron)
       * Dwarf sawfish (Pristis clavata)
       * Speartooth shark (Glyphis glyphis)
       * Northern river shark (Glyphis garricki).
The three sawfish species are all members of the family Pristidae. These species are characterised by their slender shark-like body, flattened head and elongated saw-like snouts, or rostrums, which have varying numbers of teeth along each side depending on species, sex and region. Largetooth sawfish and green sawfish grow to a maximum length of approximately 700 centimetres (cm), with dwarf sawfish reaching a maximum length of approximately 310 cm. Further detail on these species, including differentiating characteristics between each and the recent change in taxonomy from freshwater sawfish (Pristis microdon) to largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis), is included in the issues paper.
The two river shark species are morphologically very similar with separation into distinct species based on dentition, vertebral counts, and subtle coloration and morphological differences. Speartooth sharks are estimated to reach well over two metres at maturity; the maximum recorded size for northern river sharks in Australia is approximately 250 cm for a female and 150 cm for a male; maximum size at maturity is unknown. Together, these two sharks are characterised by: a short, broadly rounded snout, somewhat flattened; tall second dorsal fin; triangular, blade-like upper teeth and tall narrow lower teeth; and slate greyish coloration along the back and abruptly white below, with tonal junction below the eye.

     2.2                Distribution in Australian waters
The majority of records for largetooth sawfish in Australia are of juvenile and sub-adult animals from rivers. They have been recorded in numerous drainage systems in northern Australia in fresh and saline water including the Fitzroy, Durack, Robinson and Ord rivers (Western Australia), the Adelaide, Victoria, Daly, East and South Alligator, Goomadeer, Roper, McArthur, Wearyan and Robinson rivers (Northern Territory), and the Gilbert, Mitchell, Normanby, Wenlock, Mission, Embley and Leichhardt rivers (Queensland).
Green sawfish are currently distributed from about the Whitsundays (Harry et al., 2011) in Queensland across northern Australian waters to Shark Bay in Western Australia. Individuals have been recorded in inshore coastal environments and estuaries but the species does not penetrate into freshwater. There are also records of green sawfish hundreds of kilometres offshore in relatively deep water (Stevens et al., 2005).
Since European settlement, the dwarf sawfish's Australian distribution has been considered to extend from the Pilbara coast in Western Australia across northern Australia and into the Gulf of Carpentaria (Last & Stevens, 1994; Stevens et al., 2008). Distribution on the east coast of