The largetooth sawfish is found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific, which includes areas of East Africa to New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam and Australia. It can also be found in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans. The largetooth sawfish inhabits sandy or muddy bottoms of shallow coastal waters, estuaries, river mouths, and freshwater rivers and lakes.

It eats crustaceans, mollusks and other animals found at the bottom of the ocean, as well as small schooling fish like mullet or herring. The saw is used for digging in the sand or mud for food, attacking prey and as a defense mechanism. The largetooth sawfish has the basic body structure of a ray, including gill slits on the underside of the body. It spends most of its time feeding on the bottom.

The female gives birth to many young at one time. The female sawfish gives birth to live young. When the offspring are born, their teeth are covered with a membranous sheath that protects the mother from the sharp teeth. The saw is soft and flexible and can bend backward upon birth and hardens soon after birth.

You can find the largetooth sawfish in the Ocean Voyager exhibit at the Aquarium.

• If the largetooth sawfish loses a tooth, it will replace it.
• Some sawfish may spend their entire lives in freshwater.
• The saw may have 14-22 very large teeth on either side.
• The largetooth sawfish’s eyes are on the top of its head and the gills are nears its belly.
• The maximum size for the animal was reported to be more than 21 feet and more than 1,400 pounds.

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