saw to incapacitate it. It is then brought to the seabed and eaten. The "saw on substrate" is similar, but used on prey at the seabed. The saw is highly streamlined and when swiped it causes very little water movement. The final method involves pinning the prey against the seabed with the underside of the saw, in a manner similar to that seen in guitarfish. The "pin" is also used to manipulate the position of the prey, allowing fish to be swallowed head-first and thus without engaging any possible fin spines. The spines of catfish, a common prey, have been found imbedded in the rostrum of sawfish. Schools of mullets have been observed trying to escape sawfish. Prey fish are typically swallowed whole and not cut into small pieces with the saw, although on occasion one may be split in half during capture by the slashing motion. Prey choice is therefore limited by the size of the mouth. A sawfish had a catfish in its stomach. It had been suggested that sawfish use their saw to dig/rake in the bottom for prey, but this was not observed during a 2012 study, or supported by later hydrodynamic studies. Large sawfish often have rostral teeth with tips that are notably worn. Saw and self-defense Old stories often describe sawfish as highly dangerous to humans, sinking ships and cutting people in half, but today these are considered myths and not factual. Sawfish are actually docile and harmless to humans, except when captured, where they can inflict serious injuries when defending themselves by thrashing the saw from side-to-side. The saw is also used in self-defense against predators such as sharks that may eat sawfish. In captivity, they have been seen using their saws during fights over hierarchy or food. Relationship with humans In history, culture and mythology The largetooth sawfish was among the species formally described by Carl Linnaeus (as "Squalus pristis") in Systema Naturae in 1758, but sawfish were already known thousands of years earlier. Sawfish were occasionally mentioned in antiquity, in works such as Pliny's Natural History (77–79 AD). Pristis, the scientific name formalised for sawfish by Linnaeus in 1758, was also in use as a name even before his publication. For example, sawfish or "priste" were included in Libri de piscibus marinis in quibus verae piscium effigies expressae sunt by Guillaume Rondelet in 1554, and "pristi" were included in De piscibus