''Sarcoprion'' (from the Ancient Greek for "flesh saw") is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus of

eugeneodontid The Eugeneodontida is an extinct and poorly known order of cartilaginous fishes. They possessed "tooth-whorls" on the symphysis of either the lower or both jaws and pectoral fins supported by long radials. They probably lacked pelvic fins and ana ...

holocephalids from the Permian of Greenland. Similar to other eugeneodontids such as ''

Edestus ''Edestus'' is an extinct genus of edestoid cartilaginous fish known from the Late Carboniferous ( Pennsylvanian) of the United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States. Most remains consist of isolated curved blades or "whorls" that are studded wi ...

'' and '' Helicoprion'', it was best known for its extremely bizarre tooth morphology compared to other species of sharks and their closest relatives, the

chimaera Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes , known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last three names are not to be confused with rattails, Opisthoproctidae, or Siganidae, respectively. At ...

s. Compared to other members of the

Helicoprionidae The Helicoprionidae, also known as the Agassizodontidae are an extinct, poorly known family of bizarre holocephalids within the poorly understood order Eugeneodontida. Members of the Helicoprionidae possessed a unique "tooth-whorl" on the symph ...

(teeth of

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...

), its "tooth whorls" were found to be sharper, more compact, and in better condition than other sharks of the time, and refrained from growing to extremely unwieldy forms that would raise questions about its ability to feed properly. The genus contains one species, ''Sarcoprion edax'' ("gluttonous flesh saw"), found in Permian-aged marine strata of ''Meddelelser om Grønland''.

Description

''Sarcoprion'' had a jaw and mouth structure which allowed it to be more hydrodynamic, reducing the size and shape of the tooth whorl and increasing the size of the rostrum. ''Sarcoprion'' is thought to have pursued smaller, fast-moving prey similar to today's

mako shark ''Isurus'' is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, commonly known as the mako sharks. Description The two living species are the common shortfin mako shark (''I. oxyrinchus'') and the rare longfin mako shark (''I. paucus''). They ...

. Estimations on its size suggested an average length of from the two specimens discovered in Greenland.

Paleobiology

Using the compact tooth whorl during hunting, ''Sarcoprion'' hunted a large variety of species, diving at them with high speed and sawing vulnerable areas.A. Peter Kimley, 1996 Any creatures that were wedged between its rostrum and its teeth were vertically thrashed to inflict maximum damage.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7423620 Permian fish of North America Agassizodontidae Prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera Permian cartilaginous fish Fossil taxa described in 1952