The Bahamas sawshark, Pristiophorus schroederi, is a sawshark of the family Pristiophoridae, found in the western Central Atlantic Ocean from the Bahamas and Cuba at depths of between 400 and 1,000 m. These sharks are at least 80 cm long. The Bahamas sawshark is found on continental and insular slopes. Its reproduction is ovoviviparous. Pristiophorus schroederi is the first member of the sawsharks (family Pristiophoridae) described from the western hemisphere. Like its family members, it is most likely a descendant of the Cenozoic sawshark, Pristiophorus lanceolatus from New Zealand and Australia. It is a poorly known family and only consists of six members: P. cirratus, P. delicatus, P. japinicus, P. nancyae, P. nudipinnis, and P. schroederi. Three specimens of Pristiophoridae schroederi were discovered; 38.3, 64.5, and 80.5 centimeters in length, were collected by an incidental product of exploratory fishing operations by the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. One was discovered in the Santaren Channel and two from the Atlantic, just north of Little Bahama Bank. Behavior Despite the menacing appearance of this sawshark, it tends to feed primarily on fish and crustaceans like other species of its kind. They feed primarily on the seafloor. Although most shark species tend to spend most of their time solitary, sawsharks are known to form schools. Ecology Many members of the family Pristiophoridae are endangered, including the P. schroederi. The sawsharks in general are among the most threatened sharks on the planet. Phylogeny Springer and Bullis (1960) began to explore the possibility of only one extant Pristiophorus species worldwide, but failed to legitimize that statement due to several distinct species in our seas, one of those species being P. schroederi. The farthest lineage known goes back to early Cretaceous period, but this species (P. tumidens) is considered an offshoot of the main Pristiophorid lineage. Shown below is the phylogenetic tree of Pristiophoridae, P. schroederi on the far right. Anatomy Sharks in the sawshark family (Pristiophoridae) are similar to the sawfish (family Pristidae) in their saw-like snout, but are smaller and have the basic structural plan of sharks rather than rays. Distinguishing features include a slight compression of their body and strong flattening of their head, and they tend to reach maturity at around one meter. Head Pristiophorus schroederi has a flattened head, which is typical of this family. It has five gill slits, almost all equal in length. The fifth gill slit crosses the