Pristiophorus


Pristiophorus is a genus of sawsharks found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Members of this genus differ from sixgill sawsharks of the genus Pliotrema in having five gill slits. Their rostral sawteeth lack prominent transverse ridges on the basal ledges, and the large teeth are not posteriorly serrated.

Taxonomy

The genus name Pristiophorus comes from Ancient Greek pristēs, meaning "saw", and -phóros, meaning "bearing".

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:Pristiophorus cirratus Pristiophorus delicatus Yearsley, Last & W. T. White, 2008 Pristiophorus japonicus Günther, 1870 Pristiophorus lanae Ebert & Wilms, 2013 Pristiophorus nancyae Ebert & Cailliet, 2011 Pristiophorus nudipinnis Günther, 1870 Pristiophorus peroniensis Yearsley, Last & W. T. White, 2008 Pristiophorus schroederi S. Springer & Bullis, 1960
;Fossil species
Based on the Shark-References database:
  • Pristiophorus austriacus Reinecke et al., 2020
  • Pristiophorus borealis Reinecke et al., 2020
  • Pristiophorus humboldti Villafaña, Nielsen, Klug & Kriwet, 2019
  • Pristiophorus lacipidinensis Adnet, 2006
  • Pristiophorus laevis Engelbrecht, Mörs, Reguero & Kriwet, 2016
  • Pristiophorus lanceolatus Davis, 1888
  • Pristiophorus lineatus Applegate & Uyeno, 1968
  • Pristiophorus napierensis Chapman, 1918
  • Pristiophorus palaeocenicus
  • Pristiophorus pricei Cappetta, Morrison & Adnet, 2019
  • Pristiophorus rupeliensis Steurbaut & Herman, 1978
  • Pristiophorus smithi Cappetta, Morrison & Adnet, 2019
  • Pristiophorus striatus Underwood & Schlogl, 2013
  • Pristiophorus suevicus Jaekel, 1890
  • Pristiophorus tortonicus Reinecke et al., 2020
  • Pristiophorus tumidens
  • Pristiophorus ungeri Reinecke et al., 2020
However, Villafaña et al. noted that the smooth rostral spines used to identify fossil Pristiophorus species may not necessarily be diagnostic to just Pristiophorus, at least in South American fossil localities on the Pacific coast. The most effective way to diagnose a fossil sawshark species to Pristiophorus, and as its own species, is via the rarely-preserved oral teeth, which tend to not be associated with the rostral spines.