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Rare 'prehistoric' shark relative with 32 teeth on its exterior is making a comeback in Florida
Dr. Jim Gelsleichter and members of the University of North Florida's Shark Biology Program were amazed after they caught and released a sawfish, a critically endangered species.
He and four UNF students were exploring St Marys River when they found the 10-foot rare shark relative this summer.
One of its students discovered the sawfish, a species that evolved from primitive sharks now extinct, after they felt a tug on the line while out in the water.
Gelsleichter, the UNF Shark Biology Program director, jumped into the water to grab the line they used to capture large species.
'It was the heaviest thing I’d pulled on a drum line. When I pulled it, I was thinking: "Wouldn’t it be funny if it was a sawfish,"' Gelsleichter told USA Today.
Dr. Jim Gelsleichter and members of the University of North Florida 's Shark Biology Program caught and released a sawfish on July 16
Jim Gelsleichter, the UNF Shark Biology Program director, jumped into the water to grab the line they used to capture large species, and save the sawfish
Gelsleichter and the students on the 21-foot boat immediately began to study the fish after they got it out of the water on July 16.
The shark enthusiasts identified the sawfish as a male due to it having claspers, and paired extensions of pelvic fins that male sharks use for reproduction, according to the UNF news release.
They also determined the sawfish was sub-adult, meaning it was young and not fully matured.
After seeing highly calcified and soft claspers, the UNF professor and students concluded the sawfish's age.
Multiple scientists, including UNF biologists who've studied sawfish reproduction, confirmed that male sawfish usually aren't fully matured until they are at least 11 feet long.
Gelsleichter and the students concluded the sawfish was a male and sub-adult, meaning it wasn't fully matured
Gelsleichter was partly excited about this find because of the sawfish's massive population decline since the 20th century.
Some of the primary reasons behind the sawfish population decrease are their frequently being caught in fishing gear and habitat decline.
They were also the first marine fish to be listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act in 2003.
'Sawfish were known to live in Northeast Florida before the population decline led to the species being listed as endangered,' he said.
'The reoccurrence of sawfish in our area is a positive sign of population recovery.'
Although the smalltooth sawfish population has increased since experts labeled the species endangered, it's at risk of going back down again due to reports of sawfish deaths in Florida, according to the UNF news release.
Hundreds of fish, including more than 50 sawfish, died in the Florida Keys from a kind of whirling disease, which can cause fish to spin and act abnormally.
According to Gelsleichter, the sawfish they found during their trip did not experience any signs of whirling disease.
The sawfish find came less than six months after over 50 of them died in Florida due to a spinning and whirling disease
Sawfish are known for their elongated, saw-like snouts, which they slash laterally through the water when preying on species.
There are five different sawfish species: Smalltooth, Largetooth, Dwarf, Green, and Narrow.
Each of these five species are different based on size, geographic range, and physical features like dorsal fin locations and tail fin shapes.
Smalltooth sawfishes generally live in tropical seas and estuaries in the Atlantic Ocean.
That sawfish species primarily eats fish, but it could eat various invertebrates like shrimp and crabs.
Their snouts also have an electro-sensory system, which can identify prey, and sense the weak amount of electricity produced by other animals.
Floridians who are hoping to spot a smalltooth sawfish will have a good chance to do so if they are around the southwest coast near the Everglades and Florida Keys region.
Anyone who is not in the US can find smalltooth sawfishes off the coasts of Honduras, Belize, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, and Sierra Leone.
Smalltooth sawfishes usually live anywhere between 25 and 30 years old, but those in the largetooth species can live anywhere from 30 to 80 years old.