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.