The curious-looking sawfish—actually a kind of ray—got a reprieve from CITES earlier this week, when the UN group agreed to ban the international trade of the fish.

High demand for the sawfish's distinctive nose, or rostrum, in the curio market has taken a heavy toll on the animal's numbers, which CITES estimates at only 10 percent of its historic size.

Other parts of the sawfish have also found ready markets around the world, from fins served up in shark-fin soup in Asia to teeth used to make spurs for cockfighting in South America.

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