What is "sawfish"

Sawfish \Saw"fish`\, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of elasmobranch fishes of the genus Pristis. They have a sharklike form, but are more nearly allied to the rays. The flattened and much elongated snout has a row of stout toothlike structures inserted along each edge, forming a sawlike organ with which it mutilates or kills its prey.

also saw-fish, 1660s; see saw (n.1.) + fish (n.).

n. A fish having the snout in a saw shape, in family Pristidae

1. n. primitive ray with sharp teeth on each edge of a long flattened snout

2. [also: sawfishes (pl)]

Sawfish is a window manager for the X Window System. It aims to manage windows in the most flexible and attractive manner possible. It matches a created window by multiple criteria, and automatically alters the window's position, sets the software theme per-window, or removes the borders entirely. There is a GUI configuration utility for users who do not wish to edit configuration files directly.

Sawfish uses a Lisp-like scripting language, rep, for all of its code and configuration, making it particularly easy to customize, or program many kinds of behavior, responding to window creation, deletion, or any other changes.

A Sawfish is a large, endangered cartilaginous fish with a saw-shaped nose.

Sawfish may also refer to:

• Sawfish (window manager), a window manager for Unix systems running X
• Sawfish harvester, a submersible robot equipped with a chainsaw for harvesting underwater trees

Sawfishes, also known as carpenter sharks, are a family of rays characterized by a long, narrow, flattened rostrum, or nose extension, lined with sharp transverse teeth, arranged so as to resemble a saw. Several species of sawfishes can grow to about . The family as a whole is largely unknown and little studied. The Pristidae are the only living family within the order Pristiformes, whose name comes from the .

Sawfishes should not be confused with sawsharks (order Pristiophoriformes), or the extinct sclerorhynchids (order Sclerorhynchiformes) which have a similar appearance.

All species of sawfishes are listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN, and face the threat of extinction as a result of habitat loss and overfishing. Global populations of every species of sawfishes are estimated to have fallen to less than 10% of their historic levels, and they have been lost from at least 80% of their historic range. The smalltooth sawfish ( Pristis pectinata), for example, was once widely distributed, but available data indicate the range of this species has been reduced by about 90%, and population numbers have declined dramatically, perhaps by 95% or more. International commerce of sawfishes has been banned globally since 2007, with the only exception being for the provision of live Pristis microdon to appropriate public aquaria for primarily conservation purposes.