Pristiophorus japonicus

Günther, 1870


Japanese sawshark
Classification: Elasmobranchii Pristiophoriformes Pristiophoridae

Reference of the original description
Günther, A. (1870)
Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. London, British Museum(Natural History). Vol. 8: 549 p.

Image of the original description
No image in first description.

Types
Pristiophorus japonicus
Syntype: BMNH: 1862.11.1.37 BMNH: 1867.2.20.1 BMNH: 1867.2.20.2 BMNH: 1953.8.10.6


Description :


Citation: Pristiophorus japonicus Günther, 1870: In: Database of modern sharks, rays and chimaeras, www.shark-references.com, World Wide Web electronic publication, Version 03/2024

Please send your images of "Pristiophorus japonicus" to info@shark-references.com

Pristiophorus japonicus Günther, 1870, © Frank Velte, Museum Wien
Common names
deu \(T\) Japanischer Sägehai, spa Tiburón sierra japonés, spa Tiburón sierra ñato, fra \(T\) Requin scie moustache, fra \(T\) Requin scie à nez court, eng Halberd shark, eng Japanese saw shark, eng Japanese sawshark

Short Description
Pristiophorus japonicus has a long, narrow, and narrowly tapering rostrum (rostrum length is 26-29% of TL), distance from rostral tip to barbels about equal or slightly greater than distance from barbels to mouth (1:1.1-1.2); distance from rostral barbels to nostrils about equal to distance from nostrils to 1st gill slits. About 15-26 large rostral teeth on each side of the rostrum in front of the barbels, 9-17+ behind them; distance from mouth to nostrils 1.1-1.2 times internarial space. Tooth rows 34-58 in upper jaw. Dorsal and pectoral fins covered with denticles in large specimens. Lateral trunk denticles largely unicuspidate. First dorsal fin origin behind free rear tips of pectorals by eye length or more [518]. Caudal fin almost straight, with slender upper and lower lobes; pectoral well developed but are not ray-like [1388].

Distribution
Northwest Pacific: Japan, Korea, northern China. Does not occur in the Western Central Pacific [20050]. Source: www.gbif.org

Human uses
fisheries: commercial

Biology
Ovoviviparous, embryos feed solely on yolk [733]. Lives on continental shelves and upper slopes on or near the bottom. Also found in coastal waters on sand or mud bottoms [518][17641] Feeds on small bottom organisms using its barbels to poke the bottom with its snout [518]. A carnivor [17641].

Size / Weight / Age
136 cm TL (female)

Habitat
demersal; marine; depth range 0 - 500 m (Ref. 54710)

Remarks
shark-references Species-ID=5016;

Parasites (arranged by Jürgen Pollerspöck)
Isopoda
  • Thaumastognathia bicorniger Ota, Kurashima & Horie, 2022 [30445]