Smalltooth sawfish live in shallow, tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Sawfish are named for their distinct rostrum – a long, flat snout, which is edged with teeth. Female sawfish give live birth and the young are called ‘pups,’ which are born with fully developed saws. The saws of the newborn sawfish are very flexible and covered in a thick gelatinous material to avoid injuring the mother at birth. Pups are born at approximately 0.6 m (2 feet) in length and will grow to twice that size in their first year of life. In areas where strict conservation measures have been enacted, such as the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, populations of smalltooth sawfish have started to increase, giving hope for future recovery of the species. Because they grow rapidly and mature at between 7 and 11 years of age, the species has a chance to come back from the brink of extinction.
