A new record of the African dwarf sawshark Pristiophorus nancyae (Chondrichthyes: Pristiophoridae) from the Indian Ocean dating back to the 1960s

Seifert, Jesco (2025) A new record of the African dwarf sawshark Pristiophorus nancyae (Chondrichthyes: Pristiophoridae) from the Indian Ocean dating back to the 1960s. World Journal of Biology Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 21 (1). pp. 482-490. ISSN 2582-5542

The African dwarf sawshark (Pristiophorus nancyae) is a small representative of the sawshark family (Pristiophoridae). It was described in 2011 based on 8 individuals from Mozambique. In 2014 and 2020, these records were supplemented by 15 more specimens. Nevertheless, the African dwarf sawshark remains one of the least studied species in its already poor studied family. A new record of an aged juvenile specimen of the African dwarf sawshark allows us to expand the previously known knowledge about this shark species. In addition, the specimen examined represents the earliest known record of P. nancyae, as the individual in question was caught in the 1960s - approximately 50 years before the first description in 2011. The publication of new images is intended to supplement the previously known information about the appearance of the African dwarf sawshark and explicitly show the tooth morphology of this shark species.