Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 88, April 2009, pp. 1-14. | Seite 4

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Population:
No information available on original population size or abundance, but this formerly
common very large sawfish has undergone significant contraction of its range and a
huge decline in abundance in areas where it is still reported to occur.
Population Trend: Decreasing.
Habitat and Ecology:
Pristis zijsron inhabits muddy bottom habitats and enters estuaries. It has been recorded
in inshore marine waters to at least 40 m depth, in brackish water (estuaries and coastal
lakes) and in rivers. This species was frequently found in shallow water. Its habitat is
heavily fished and often also subject to pollution, habitat loss and degradation from
coastal, riverine and catchment developments.
This is the largest sawfish species, growing to at least 5 m and possibly over 7.3 meters
long. Males are mature by 430 cm. It is ovoviviparous, giving birth to large young. It
was suggested that adult males use their saws during mating battles. Sawfishes
generally feed on slow-moving shoaling fish such as mullet, which are stunned by
sideswipes of the snout. Molluscs and small crustaceans are also swept out of the sand
and mud by the saw. A male captured as a juvenile survived 35 years in captivity.
Systems: Freshwater; Marine.
Major Threats:
This species has been exploited intensively, both as a target species and as incidental
bycatch in commercial, sport or shark-control net fisheries and for aquarium display
throughout its range. As a result of past landings, combined with its strongly K-selected
life history pattern, it has become severely depleted in recent decades and now appears
to have been extirpated from many parts of its range, including South Africa, Sri Lanka
and Malaysia. It also has not been seen in some of its former freshwater habitats (i.e.,
Songklha Lake, (Malay Peninsula) Thailand for some 30 to 40 years. The species is
probably now only easy to find in