Bahamas sawshark
The Bahamas saw shark ( Pristiophorus schroederi ) is a shark from the family of Sägehaie ( Pristiophoridae ). Like its relatives, the shark is characterized by a long saw-like snout, which makes this type up to 32 percent of the body length. He is known based on a few specimens of only a few deep waters in the Caribbean Sea between Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas.
Features
The Bahamas saw shark reaches a maximum length of about 80 cm. The body is constructed cylindrically long and slender. The head is flattened and has a greatly elongated and flattened snout with a typically Sägehaie serrated rostrum, which accounts for this kind between 30 and 32 percent of the body length. The rostrum has a distinctive pair of barbels in front of the nostrils as well as the margin of the " Saw" 23 distinct posterior teeth. The barbels are in this type approximately in the middle between the mouth and saw tip; before the barbels are 13 and 10 teeth behind it. Juveniles also have a small tooth between the larger sawteeth.
The top of its body is solid light gray, the underside is white. On the rostrum to darker gray stripes are on the center line and at the edges, also the edges of the pectoral fins are more brightly colored. The young sharks also have the edges of the fins on both dark edges.
The eyes are set on the side of the head, behind the large suction holes located close to. Like other species of the genus has the saw shark five gill slits. Like all Sägehaie he has two dorsal fins without spine and no anal fin. The caudal peduncle has distinct keels, the tail consists only of a large upper lobe while the lower lobe all Sägehaien missing.
Way of life
The Bahamas is a saw shark Bodenhaiart that occurs in water depths between 440 and at least 950 meters. About his lifestyle data are very rare, probably it feeds from various predatory fish and other soil organisms. The sharks are viviparous and do not form placenta ( aplazental viviparous ).
Dissemination
The Bahamas saw shark lives in the western Atlantic in the deep water of the Caribbean Sea between Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas and only a few defined areas of distribution are known. Its habitat is located in the area of the continental slope close to the seabed in water depths of 440-950 meters.
Endangering
In the IUCN Red List of Bahamas - saw shark is not classed with the words " data deficient " because of the very limited distribution area a future assessment is as " near threatened " possible.