Sawfishes belong to a group of fishes called elasmobranchs that includes sharks, rays, and skates. All Elasmobranchs have a skeleton made of cartilage as opposed to a skeleton made of bone like other fishes such as red drum, snook, or tarpon. Sawfishes are actually a type of ray. Sawfishes all fit into one family known as Pristidae, derived from a Greek term meaning "saw". Sawfishes possess the characteristic long, flattened, toothed saw, a flattened head and trunk, and a shark-like appearance and manner of swimming. SOurce: Videos of the Wild