Pristiophorus is a genus of sawsharks found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Members of this genus differ from sixgill sawsharks of the genus Pliotrema in having five gill slits. Their rostral sawteeth lack prominent transverse ridges on the basal ledges, and the large teeth are not posteriorly serrated.
Taxonomy
The genus name Pristiophorus comes from Ancient Greek pristÃÂs, meaning "saw", and -phóros, meaning "bearing".
Species
There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:
- Pristiophorus cirratus <small>(Latham, 1794)</small> (Longnose sawshark)
- Pristiophorus delicatus <small>Yearsley, Last & W. T. White, 2008</small> (Tropical sawshark)
- Pristiophorus japonicus <small>Günther, 1870</small> (Japanese sawshark)
- Pristiophorus lanae <small>Ebert & Wilms, 2013</small> (Lana's sawshark)
- Pristiophorus nancyae <small>Ebert & Cailliet, 2011</small> (African dwarf sawshark)
- Pristiophorus nudipinnis <small>Günther, 1870</small> (Shortnose sawshark)
- Pristiophorus peroniensis <small>Yearsley, Last & W. T. White, 2008</small> (Eastern Australian sawshark)
- Pristiophorus schroederi <small>S. Springer & Bullis, 1960</small> (Bahamas sawshark)
Fossil species
Based on the Shark-References database:
- Pristiophorus austriacus <small>Reinecke et al., 2020</small>
- Pristiophorus borealis <small>Reinecke et al., 2020</small>
- Pristiophorus humboldti <small>Villafaña, Nielsen, Klug & Kriwet, 2019</small>
- Pristiophorus lacipidinensis <small>Adnet, 2006</small>
- Pristiophorus laevis <small>Engelbrecht, Mörs, Reguero & Kriwet, 2016</small>
- Pristiophorus lanceolatus <small>Davis, 1888</small>
- Pristiophorus lineatus <small>Applegate & Uyeno, 1968</small>
- Pristiophorus napierensis <small>Chapman, 1918</small>
- Pristiophorus palaeocenicus <small>(Herman, 1973)</small>
- Pristiophorus pricei <small>Cappetta, Morrison & Adnet, 2019</small>
- Pristiophorus rupeliensis <small>Steurbaut & Herman, 1978</small>
- Pristiophorus smithi <small>Cappetta, Morrison & Adnet, 2019</small>
- Pristiophorus striatus <small>Underwood & Schlogl, 2013</small>
- Pristiophorus suevicus <small>Jaekel, 1890</small>
- Pristiophorus tortonicus <small>Reinecke et al., 2020</small>
- Pristiophorus tumidens <small>(Woodward, 1932)</small>
- Pristiophorus ungeri <small>Reinecke et al., 2020</small>
However, Villafaña et al. (2025) noted that the smooth rostral spines used to identify fossil Pristiophorus species may not necessarily be diagnostic to just Pristiophorus, at least in South American fossil localities on the Pacific coast. The most effective way to diagnose a fossil sawshark species to Pristiophorus, and as its own species, is via the rarely-preserved oral teeth, which tend to not be associated with the rostral spines.
References