Pristis pristis ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Ebert, David A., Wintner, Sabine P. & Kyne, Peter M., 2021, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of South Africa, Zootaxa 4947 (1), pp. 1-127 : 73

Pristis pristis ( Linnaeus, 1758)

Largetooth Sawfish

Squalus pristis Linnaeus, 1758: 235 . No types known. Type locality: Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, western Atlantic; localities include Marseille, France; Italy; Lesbos Island , Greece; Syria; Brazil.

Local synonymy: Pristis pectinatus : Bleeker, 1860b: 58; G̹nther, 1870: 437; Gilchrist, 1902: 166; Thompson, 1914: 153; Norman, 1922: 320; von Bonde & Swart, 1923: 2; Barnard, 1925: 57; Fowler, 1925a: 192; Fowler, 1941: 291; Smith, 1949a: 63, fig. 59; Barnard, 1959: 22, fig. 8, pl. 3; Smith, 1961a: 63, fig. 59, pl. 3; Davies, 1964: pl. 6; Smith, 1965: 63, fig. 59; Wallace, 1967b: 9, fig. 4; Heemstra & Heemstra, 2004: 76. Pristis perrotteti : Barnard, 1925: 56; Barnard, 1959: 22. Pristis microdon : Smith, 1949a: 63, fig. 58; Smith, 1961a: 63, fig. 58; Smith, 1965: 63, fig. 58; Wallace, 1967b: 6, fig. 3; Compagno, 1986: 110, fig. 22.1; Compagno et al., 1989: 74, pl. (in part); Compagno, 1999: 115; Heemstra & Heemstra, 2004: 75. Pristis pectinata : Compagno, 1986: 111, fig. 22.2, pl. 4; Compagno et al., 1989: 74, pl. (in part); Compagno, 1999: 115. Pristis pristis: Compagno, 1999: 115 ; Faria et al., 2013: 136; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 146; Everett et al., 2015: 275; Last et al., 2016b: 474; Last et al., 2016c: 63, fig. 8.4; Weigmann, 2016: 917.

South Africa voucher material: SAIAB 11135, SAIAB 12833.

South African distribution: Port Alfred (EC) to the KZN border with Mozambique.

Remarks: The sawfish family Pristidae was problematic in the number of species and distribution until Faria et al. (2013) reviewed the family and concluded that two genera ( Anoxypristis , Pristis ) and five species ( A. cuspidata , P. clavata , P. pectinata , P. pristis , and P. zijsron ) were valid. The nomenclature of South Africa sawfishes is no different and is lengthy and convoluted with various names including P. microdon , P. pectinata , P. perrotteti , and P. pristis appearing in the literature. However, a review by Everett et al. (2015) found that two species, P. pristis and P. zijsron appear to be the only two that historically occurred in South African waters.

Conservation status: CR (2013).