This photo from explore.org fan allisonis1112 captures the freshwater sawfish and reticulated whiptail rays in the Live Shark Lagoon Cam. If you’ve ever had a chance to pet a shark at an aquarium, you know that shark skin has a very cool feel. That’s because shark scales fit together like a chain mail suit helping to protect against
Explore.org fan Ashlan KM catches the sawfish in “flight” on the Shark Lagoon Live Cam! Fast Fact: From the Aquarium of the Pacific, “The sawfish’s upper surface is commonly a muddy brown color, but may also be dark green or gray. The underside is creamy white. This type of coloration is called countershading.” A technique
Sawfish are often confused with sawsharks which have a similar snout. However, the sawfish is much larger and its gill slits are on the ventral (bottom) side of its body. The gill slits of the sawshark are on the side of its head (Aquarium of the Pacific). This great snapshot comes from explore.org fan, AJAY-61-NY. See
Fantastic Fact: The sawfish is an osmoregulator, i.e., it is able to adapt to living in salt, brackish, and fresh water. This fish’s “saw” is an important tool that has become adapted for both feeding and as a formidable defensive weapon. The sawfish defends itself against fish much larger than itself, often inflicting lethal wounds with
