The First Record of a Saw Shark from Namibia

The First Record of a Saw Shark Pristiophoriformes from Namibia

Written by Dr Ruth H. Leeney

Namibia’s Rays and Sharks (NaRaS), Namibia Nature Foundation, 6 Hidipo Hamutenya Street, Swakopmund, Namibia IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group | Africa Regional Group | Member

Region Update: Africa

There are currently ten known species of Saw Sharks (order Pristiophoriformes) worldwide. Of those ten species, the African Dwarf Sawshark (Pristiophorus nancyae), Kaja’s Sixgill Sawshark (Pliotrema kajae), and Anna’s Sixgill Sawshark (Pliotrema annae) have been recorded from the western Indian Ocean, and Warren’s Sixgill Sawshark (Pliotrema warreni) has been recorded off South Africa and Mozambique only. No Saw Shark species has, to date, been formally recorded from Africa’s west coast.

On the 23rd of August 2014, recreational anglers Melanie and Morne Honiball were fishing from the shore in an area known as the Canopy Area, about 60 km north of Henties Bay, Namibia. They came across a saw shark on the beach, which they estimated to be between 70 and 100 cm in total length and weighing about 1 kg. Apart from a scavenged eyeball, the shark was relatively fresh, suggesting that it was recently dead or perhaps even alive when it washed ashore.

Unfortunately, neither the number of gill slits nor any serration on the large rostral teeth is visible from the available photographs. No image of the underside of the rostrum was taken to allow for the positioning of barbels to be ascertained. However, based on the size of the animal and the shape of the fins, it is likely to be a Pliotrema species. The only species in this genus known to occur in the southeast Atlantic Ocean is Warren’s Sixgill Saw Shark. This would be the first record of this species in Namibian waters and the northernmost record for the southeast Atlantic if it is this species. Alternatively, it may be an as-yet undescribed species occurring in Namibian waters. Staff from Namibia’s Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources who take part in annual research cruises have been shown these images and asked whether saw sharks have been caught on these surveys. Still, thus far, no other recollections of saw shark encounters in Namibian waters have been reported. Melanie and Morne have been angling off Namibia’s coast for over 20 years but have never encountered any other saw sharks during that time.

If anyone has recorded a Saw Shark in Namibia or elsewhere on the west coast of Africa, please contact Ruth Leeney (ruth.leeney@gmail.com).