The food and feeding habits of the sawtooth barracuda, Sphyraena putnamae, from the southeastern Arabian Sea, India, were studied from 1367 specimens having a fork length range of 16.5–76 cm. The sawtooth barracuda consumed diverse prey items, which were grouped into three categories: teleosts, molluscs, and crustaceans. Teleosts were the preferred and dominant food component, while molluscs and crustaceans constituted the secondary and accessory food items, respectively. The chief constituents of the teleost group on basis of their dominance were identified to be carangids, scombrids, engraulids, leiognathids, and synodontids. The empty stomach ratio and stomach fullness index did not differ significantly between the sexes. The juveniles of both sexes exhibited a significantly higher stomach fullness index compared with the adults. A clear ontogenetic shift in the feeding pattern was observed, with only the crustaceans forming the diet in lower size class (<20 cm) being gradually replaced by molluscs and teleosts by medium-sized fishes (30–60 cm) and teleosts alone in the gut of S. putnamae above 65 cm. This study provides essential baseline information on the feeding habits of the Sphyraena putnamae, the first of its kind in the region. The study will be useful in understanding the trophodynamics of the species for proposing suitable management and conservation measures.

锯齿梭鱼Sphyraena putnamae的食物和食性来自印度阿拉伯海东南部的 1367 个标本进行了研究，这些标本的叉长范围为 16.5-76 厘米。锯齿梭鱼捕食的猎物多种多样，分为三类：硬骨鱼、软体动物和甲壳类动物。硬骨鱼是首选和主要食物成分，而软体动物和甲壳类动物分别构成次要和辅助食物。根据它们的优势，硬骨鱼组的主要成分被确定为carangids、scombrids、engraulids、leiognathids 和sydondontids。两性之间的空腹比例和饱腹指数没有显着差异。与成鱼相比，两性的幼鱼表现出明显更高的胃饱胀指数。观察到进食模式的明显个体发生转变，S. putnamae高于 65 厘米。这项研究提供了关于Sphyraena putnamae摄食习惯的基本基线信息，这是该地区的第一个此类研究。该研究将有助于了解该物种的营养动力学，从而提出合适的管理和保护措施。