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Pristis perotteti

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA CHONDRICHTHYES RAJIFORMES PRISTIDAE

Scientific Name: Pristis perotteti
Species Authority: Valenciennes, in Müller & Henle, 1841
Common Name/s:
English – Largetooth Sawfish

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Critically Endangered A2abcd ver 3.1
Year Published: 2007
Assessor/s: Charvet-Almeida, P., Faria, V., Furtado, M., Cook, S.F., Compagno L.J.V. & Oetinger, M.I.
Reviewer/s: Simpfendorfer, C., Kyne, P.M. & Valenti, S.V. (Shark Red List Authority)
Contributor/s:
Justification:
A large, previously widely distributed marine, estuarine and freshwater sawfish. It has been taken in (former) directed fisheries and is extremely vulnerable to bycatch in virtually all fisheries throughout its tropical Atlantic range. The relationship of this species, to a similar form that occurs in the tropical Eastern Pacific is uncertain, but is currently being investigated, and the present assessment relates only to the Atlantic form. The species has been extirpated from most of its former range and its population status is known to be critical especially in Lake Nicaragua, other Central/South American sites and in West Africa. Artisanal and commercial landings are in decline in regions where it still occurs. Habitat degradation (mainly mangrove destruction) is also a threat. Information on biology and ecology is known only from an overfished population in Lake Nicaragua (Nicaragua), but it is a long-lived species with little capacity to recover from depletion. This species is assessed as Critically Endangered on the basis of observed and inferred declines in abundance in both the Eastern and Western Atlantic where it is believed to have been extirpated from much of its former range. Further data on the biology and trade of this species is being collected.
History:
2007 – Critically Endangered
2000 – Critically Endangered
1996 – Endangered

Geographic Range [top]

Countries:
Native:
Belize; Brazil; Colombia; Costa Rica; French Guiana; Guatemala; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Suriname; United States; Venezuela
Possibly extinct:
Angola; Benin; Cameroon; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Gibraltar; Guinea; Liberia; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Spain; Togo; Western Sahara
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native:
Atlantic – eastern central; Atlantic – southeast; Atlantic – southwest; Atlantic – western central
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population Trend: Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Systems: Freshwater; Marine
Citation: Charvet-Almeida, P., Faria, V., Furtado, M., Cook, S.F., Compagno L.J.V. & Oetinger, M.I. 2007. Pristis perotteti. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2013.
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