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With a name like “sawfish”, you might expect one of these bizarre sea creatures to saw through a block of wood. Instead, these fascinating fish are far more metal. Using their deadly snouts, they slice through other fish. Have a look here: https://imgur.com/saw-water-7kaUWDE
If this level of savagery reminds you of a ravenous shark, you’re not wrong. Sawfish are actually close relative of sharks and rays, and their shark-like bodies offer enough clues. They even have skeletons made of soft, pliable cartilage, just like sharks and rays. However, although they might appear frightening, they are not interested in sawing apart humans (unless provoked), so you have nothing to fear!
On top of that, a sawfish was the first fish recorded to have a virgin birth in the wild! When mates are rare, the female smalltooth sawfish can still breed without any input from a male. How badass is that?
Unfortunately, despite their badassery, all sawfish species worldwide are critically endangered, and some sawfish populations have declined by as much as 95%. This is not good news, and we can only hope we can prevent these awesomely brutal animals from disappearing from Earth forever.
