japanese sawshark (pristiophorus japonicus) by catfishyay on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

sawsharks get their name from their long rostrum, which is edged with small sharp "teeth" (which are actually modified scales.) they are not to be confused with sawfish, which are much larger and lack the pair of barbels located beneath rostrums of all sawshark species.

the japanese sawshark is native to japan, korea, china and taiwan, typically living at depths of if up to 800m. this is one of the few deepsea sharks species that has been kept in captivity, with some specimens being born in aquaria.

(made for shark week 2024, day 7)