Venezuela country information

Common names: Pez sierra
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Recorded from the Maracaibo Lake (Ref. 57708).
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ve.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: de Carvalho, M.R. and J.D. McEachran, 2003
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Poisson-scie commun, Largetooth sawfish, Small-toothed sawfish, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Rhinopristiformes (Shovelnose rays) > Pristidae (Sawfishes)
Etymology: Pristis: Greek, pristis = saw (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Issue
This species was not reported since the 19th century in the Mediterranean Sea. An award will be granted by the CIESM to any documented, reliable / verifiable evidence (published paper / Ph.D thesis / photo) reporting the species after that date (Ref. 116564).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 25 - ? m (Ref. 114953). Subtropical; 35°N - 40°S, 120°W - 160°E (Ref. 114953)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Circumglobally in tropical and subtropical waters, entering estuaries and littoral lagoons and ascending river courses (Ref. 81284, 81624). Western Atlantic: Florida and Louisiana, USA to Brazil (Ref. 7251); eastern Atlantic: Portugal to Angola, including the western Mediterranean Sea (Ref. 4429; no report since the 19th century [Ref. 116564] ); western Pacific: northern Australia, from western Australia to Queensland (Ref. 7300); eastern Pacific: Gulf of California to Ecuador (Ref. 4429). In freshwater it can be found in rivers of West Africa (Ref. 81284), Ogowe River (Ref. 81284) and the Congo River estuary (Ref. 377, 81284).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 300.0, range 300 - 300 cm
Max length : 750 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57708); common length : 250 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4429); max. reported age: 30 years (Ref. 57533)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Diagnosis: Rostral blade with 20 or fewer pairs of rostral spines (Ref. 81624).

A euryhaline species (Ref. 57533). Inhabits inshore coastal waters to moderate depth, also around off lying islands. Found also in estuaries, lagoons, river mouths, and even freshwater. Feeds on fishes and bottom-living animals. Ovoviviparous. Apparently can reproduce in freshwater (Ref. 57533). Freshwater populations occur to about 750 km up Amazon River; populations in Lake Nicaragua may be non-migratory (Ref. 7251). Reaches sexual maturity at 8-10 years and females have litters of approximately 1-13 pups. Young spend much of their early life in rivers up to 400 km from the sea (Ref. 114953).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Ovoviviparous, embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McEachran, John | Collaborators

Stehmann, M., 1990. Pristidae. p. 51-54. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4429)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Critically Endangered (CR) (A2cd); Date assessed: 02 February 2022

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Appendix I: International trade banned

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Appendix I & II: Endangered migratory species conserved through agreements

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial

FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource |

More information

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Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 20.1 - 29.1, mean 27.8 (based on 1796 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5234 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00501 (0.00198 - 0.01270), b=3.05 (2.83 - 3.27), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.0 ±0.60 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tmax=44; Fec=1-20;).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Very high vulnerability (79 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Medium.

Pristis pristis (Linnaeus, 1758)