An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyan fishes inhabiting the northern Gulf of Mexico Part 1: Batoidea
Author
Jones, Christian M.
National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Mississippi Laboratories, 3209 Frederic Street, Pascagoula, Mississippi, U. S. A.
Author
Driggers Iii, William B.
Author
Hannan, Kristin M.
Riverside Technologies Inc., Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Mississippi Laboratories, 3209 Frederic Street, Pascagoula, Mississippi, U. S. A. kristin. hannan @ noaa. gov; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 2687 - 3331
Author
Hoffmayer, Eric R.
Author
Jones, Lisa M.
Author
Raredon, Sandra J.
Smithsonian Institution, Division of Fishes, Museum Support Center, 4210 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland, U. S. A. raredons @ si. edu; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 8295 - 6000
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-06-26
4803
2
281
315
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4803.2.3
1175-5326
3909109
325DB7EF-94F7-4726-BC18-7B074D3CB886
Pristis pectinata
Latham, 1794
—smalltooth sawfish
Synonyms:
Pristis acutirostris
Dumeril, 1865
Pristis annandalei
Chaudhuri, 1908
Pristis granulosa
Bloch & Schneider, 1801
Pristis megalodon
Dumeril, 1865
Pristis mississippiensis
Rafinesque, 1820
Pristis pectinatus
Latham, 1794
Pristis serra
Bloch & Schneider, 1801
Pristis woermanni
Fischer, 1884
Pristobatus occa
Dumeril, 1865
Distribution.
Once widely distributed throughout the northern GOM the range of this species is predominantly restricted to the coastal and estuarine waters of the eastern GOM, mostly off the west coast of
Florida
. However, several recent reports of juvenile sawfish catches from the coastal waters of
Mississippi
and
Louisiana
are likely of this species, possibly indicating a small population in the north central GOM as well.
First Record in GOM.
Rafinesque (1820)
described
Pristis mississippiensis
as occurring in several freshwater rivers associated with the GOM and Lake Ponchartrain, an estuary of the GOM.
De Carvalho and McEachran (2003)
consider
P. mississippiensis
as a possible synonym of
P. pristis
(Linnaeus, 1758)
, likely based on
Rafinesque (1820)
reporting the occurrence of the proposed species far inland (
Arkansas
and
Ohio
Rivers). However, the description of the sole rostrum provided by
Rafinesque (1820)
more closely resembles
P. pectinata
(26-27 teeth on the rostrum); the species
Bigelow and Schroeder (1953)
and
Faria
et al.
(2013)
consider
P. mississippiensis
to be synonymous with. We also consider
P. mississippiensis
a synonym of
P. pectinata
and therefore suggest its description the first record of that species from the GOM region.
Remarks.
The taxonomic history of this species is convoluted, due partially to its former widespread distribution. This species appears now to be restricted primarily to the Atlantic Ocean (
Last
et al.
2016
) including the Mediterranean Sea and the GOM. However, synonymy of
Pristis annandalei
(described from a single specimen collected off the coast of
Myanmar
) with this species would apparently indicate historical populations in the Indian Ocean that have been extirpated.
Conservation Status.
Critically Endangered, listed as Endangered under the
United States
Endangered Species Act.