The smalltooth sawfish gets its name from the Greek word 'pristis', meaning saw and the small teeth that line the edges of its saw, which are not as large as those of other members of the sawfish family. The sawfish has a flattened shark-shaped body, brown to bluish-grey in colour, with a white underside, and wing-shaped pectoral fins. The saw is a quarter of the total length of the body and has between 25 and 32 pairs of small, sharp teeth which are longer and less broad towards the end of the saw. The mouth is on the underside and contains 10 to 12 rows of teeth in both jaws. The upper side of the sawfish is covered in rough tooth-like scales, whereas the underside is coated in smooth tooth-like scales (2) (3).