smalltooth sawfish
Pristis pectinata Latham, 1794
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) is a species of sawfish in the family Pristidae. It is found in shallow tropical and subtropical waters in coastal and estuarine parts of the Atlantic. Reports from elsewhere are now believed to be misidentifications of other species of sawfish. It is a critically endangered species that has disappeared from much of its historical range.
Wikipedia contributors, Smalltooth sawfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:33:02.354031+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pristis pectinata Latham, 1794
- Name authority
- Latham, 1794
- Common name
- smalltooth sawfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Rhinopristiformes
- Family
- Pristidae
- Genus
- Pristis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassBatoidea
- orderRhinopristiformes
- familyPristidae Bonaparte, 1835
- genusPristis Linck, 1790
- speciesPristis pectinata Latham, 1794
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pristis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| common sawfishPristis pristis (Linnaeus, 1758) | PristidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| longcomb sawfishPristis zijsron Bleeker, 1851 | PristidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pristis annandalei Chaudhuri, 1908 Chaudhuri, 1908 | synonym |
| Pristis evermanni Fischer, 1884 Fischer, 1884 | synonym |
| Pristis occa (Duméril, 1865) (Duméril, 1865) | synonym |
| Pristis woermanni Fischer, 1884 Fischer, 1884 | ambiguous synonym |
| Pristis granulosa Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Pristis acutirostris Duméril, 1865 Duméril, 1865 | synonym |
| Pristis leptodon Duméril, 1865 Duméril, 1865 | synonym |
| Pristis megalodon Duméril, 1865 Duméril, 1865 | synonym |
| Pristis pectinatus Latham, 1794 Latham, 1794 | synonym |
| Pristis serra Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Pristobatus occa Duméril, 1865 Duméril, 1865 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Latham, J. F. (1794). An essay on the various species of sawfish. The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, v. 2 (art. 25): 273–282, Pls. 26–27. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4MK2S. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.