A sawfish and a saw shark might look very similar, so it could be hard to tell them apart at first glance. Snout-mounted teeth protrude from the snout of sawfish and saw sharks, which are used for attacking. They are also bottom-dwelling fish with flat bodies, sharing similar profiles since they are distant cousins. As well as being cartilaginous, both sawfish and saw sharks are squat creatures. However, both sawfish and saw sharks are true sharks, whereas the sawfish is a ray. The underside of sawfish has gills whereas the side has gills on saw sharks. While they share many similarities, they are also very different. Therefore, we explore the differences between sawfish and sawsharks in this article.
Sawfish and Sawshark: Size
The sawfish can grow to a height of 25 feet. The fish can easily weigh more than 700 pounds. Humans are not preyed upon by sawfish, despite their large size.
As opposed to this, saw sharks can grow up to 5 feet long. The record weight of a saw shark is 20 pounds. There is no danger to humans from these sharks, which mostly feed on small fish and crustaceans.
Sawfish vs. Saw Shark: Behavior
Because sawfish have sensitive pores on their saws or rostrums, they use them for hunting. Lorenzini’s ampullae are the name given to these pores. When the water is murky, and they cannot see their prey, the electric currents they create make it much easier for the sawfish to detect vibrations. The saw, however, waved about like a sword when attacking schools of fish. The rostrum stuns its prey with its sweeping motion.
Saw sharks can be found living in schools or alone. In their hunts, saw sharks cripple prey with their saws by using sweeping actions. Saw sharks have ampullae of Lorenzini on their rostrums, as do sawfish, for detecting electrical currents.
Read More Badger Vs Skunk
Where To Find the Sawshark and Sawshark?
There are several types of sawfish, including bottom-dwellers or shallow coastal waters, as well as ones that live in rivers and lakes. The majority of them can be found in tropical and subtropical regions. These fish used to be widespread at one time. In spite of this, some species have become regionally extinct as a result of steep declines in their numbers. Although this species of fish has been wiped out from Florida, the remainder of the United States, and northern Australia, you can still find sawfish in those places.
In deep waters of 40 to 100 meters, shawsharks live in deep waters on the seabed. At depths of 900 meters, the Bahamas saw shark can easily survive. The tropical, temperate, and subtropical ocean continental shelves are home to these species. As a result of fluctuating seasonal temperatures, some saw shark species migrate.
Diets of Saw Sharks vs Sawfish
A sawfish’s diet is similar to that of a saw shark’s. Fish and crustaceans are both their prey. It is estimated that sawfish consume only the smallest fish they can fit in their mouths. A sawfish hunts the same way as a saw shark. Their rostrums are used to stun their prey as they thrash their heads. Aside from fish and crustaceans, saw sharks also eat small squid. The poor eye sight of sawfish is due to the fact that they are nocturnal. In addition to the barbels on the sides of their rostrums, Saw sharks have mouths as well. For finding food, sawfish rely exclusively on their keen saws and lack these barbels.
Read More Kuvasz vs Maremma
Reproduction
Reproduction in sawfish is poorly understood. The female of these fish gives birth to live young, which indicate their ovoviviparous nature. They estimate that sawfish produce 10 to 20 young per year since they have not seen their reproduction behavior. There are also slow maturation rates and a low rate of reproduction in these fish.
Each two-year cycle begins with a mating season for saw sharks. During the gestation period of a female saw shark, she spends 12 months in utero. A litter of three to 22 pups is born after this period. Two years is the minimum amount of time it takes for a saw shark to reach sexual maturity and reproduce. Saw sharks aren’t threatened by extinction because of their short lifespan and short reproduction period.
Saws and Teeth
There is an elongated nose on sawfish and saw sharks that is actually a part of their skull. Despite sharing this characteristic, both species have very different saws.
There are teeth on both sides of the rostrum of sawfish. It varies from species to species how many and how big the teeth are. Their loss will not result in their regeneration, as they are permanent. In the same way that rodents have teeth that grow from the bottom, sawfish teeth do as well. Often, they sharpen their teeth in the sand, which results in evenly spaced and similar-sized teeth.
A saw shark’s saw has teeth on both sides, just like its cousins. The rostrum is also adorned with barbels. These barbels are used by saw sharks to find food in the sand.
Unlike most sharks, they can regrow their teeth if they lose them. As a result, saw sharks’ teeth tend to grow in different lengths, which makes them appear unkempt.
Read More Water Bugs vs Cockroaches
Sawshark vs Sawfish: Conservation Status
Throughout the world, all five sawfish species are critically endangered or listed as endangered by the IUCN. Because sawfish fins are used in shark fin soup, people hunt them for their fins. Furthermore, sawfish face habitat loss and traditional medicine uses their teeth, rostrums, and other parts. The International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has restricted international trade in sawfish and their parts since 2007, and several countries have also protected them, with penalties for hunting them.
It is not considered endangered by most saw shark species. However, this is not the case for the common saw shark. It is listed as a near-threatened species by the IUCN.
Read More Flying Ants vs Termites
