Joan McFarland, age 12, of Haggerstown, Md., for her question:

HOW LARGE WILL A SAWFISH GROW?

A sawfish is a ray that is related to sharks and skates. It belongs to the Pristidae family of fish. There are five or six known species of sawfish and they range in length from eight feet to 35 feet.

One of the largest sawfish can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds.

All of the sawfish have skeletons of cartilage instead of calcium hardened bone. The body of the fish is flattened, with the mouth and gills on the underside.

Sawfishes possess long, flat, sawlike snouts armed with from 16 to 32 pairs of sharp points, or teeth. The fish uses this "saw" for stirring up the ocean floor in search of food.

More commonly, the saw is swept from side to side as the fish swims, striking and killing the smaller fish on which it feeds. Sawfish have also been known to damage fishermen's nets by becoming entangled in them.

Sawfishes live in many warm salt and brackish waters throughout the world. They have been found in the Atlantic as far north as New Jersey and for several miles up the Mississippi River.

The eggs of sawfish hatch inside the mother so that the young are born alive.