16.1° S / 124.3° EPRISTIDAE / RANGE
Global lifeboat
Kimberley coast
Northern Australia is the most important surviving multi-species refuge on Earth.
SPECIES EVIDENCE4
A visual guide to sawfish conservation
SAWFISH
Not a shark, but a rare ray that uses its saw to sense prey. Five species remain, and every one is Critically Endangered.
Sawfish are not sharks.
They are rays.
PRISTIDAE / BATOIDEA
A flattened head, broad pectoral fins, and a rostrum covered in sensory receptors. This body is adapted to rivers, estuaries, and shallow coasts.
Remaining habitat / 01
Where do they live today?
Explore selected regions with sawfish records or conservation importance. Points are approximate regional centres, not an exhaustive range map or live animal positions.
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REGIONAL LOCATIONS — APPROXIMATE
08 / 08 ZONESDRAG TO ROTATESCROLL TO ZOOM
SELECT A REGION
COREVERIFIEDPRIORITYUNCERTAIN
Drag the globe and select a region — no marker does not mean the species is absent
The sixth sense / 02
A saw built to sense.
Sensory pores along the rostrum detect electrical signals from animals hidden in the sediment.
Electroreception
Fine sensory pores read the electric fields produced by muscles and nerves.
The last five / 03
The five remaining species.
Only five living species remain. Every one is now assessed as Critically Endangered.
Emergency / 04
The causes are clear.
historic global population decline
of former coastal range has gone quiet
Fishing nets
The saw made to sense prey tangles easily in fishing gear.
Lost nurseries
Mangroves and river mouths shelter the first years of life.
The next record / 05
Protection works.
Protecting estuaries, reducing net mortality, and recording encounters are direct actions that give populations a real chance to recover.
Explore the global recovery strategy↗