Sarcoprion

Sarcoprion; Temporal range: Wuchiapingian, 259–254 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Paratype specimen of Sarcoprion edax, from the collection of the Danish Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Holocephali
Order:	†Eugeneodontida
Family:	†Helicoprionidae
Genus:	†Sarcoprion; Nielsen, 1952
Species
	S. edax;

Speculative life reconstruction based on the partial skull described by Nielsen (1952)

Sarcoprion (from the Ancient Greek, "flesh saw") is an extinct genus of eugeneodont holocephalan from the Permian of Greenland. Similar to other helicoprionids such as Agassizodus and Helicoprion,^[1] it possessed tooth whorls on the symphysis of the jaw as well as flattened, pavement-type teeth. It is distinguished from other members of its family by the presence of sharp, symphyseal teeth on both the upper and lower jaws. The tooth whorl on the lower jaw bore sharp, compact tooth crowns, while a row of backward facing, triangular teeth was present on the roof of the mouth.^[2] The preserved material does not show evidence of a distinct upper jaw, implying it may have been fused to the cranium, reduced, or lost entirely.^[2]^[3] The type and only species in the genus is S. edax.^[2]

Description

Sarcoprion had a thin, pointed snout, with proportionally small tooth whorls and a greatly elongated rostrum compared to its relatives for which comparable skull material is known. The most complete known specimen consists only of a partial cranium and lower jaws.^[2]

References

^ Schultze, Hans-Peter; Schultze, Hans-Peter (1981). Chondrichthyes I: Paleozoic Elasmobranchii. Handbook of paleoichthyology / hrsg. von Hans-Peter Schultze. Begr. von Oskar Kuhn. Bearb. von S. E. Bendix-Almgren. Ort nicht ermittelbar: Verlag nicht ermittelbar. ISBN 978-3-437-30337-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Nielsen, Egil (30 August 1952). "On new or little known Edestidae from the Permian and Triassic of East Greenland". Meddelelser om Grønland (144): 5–55.
^ Zangerl, Rainer (1966). A new shark of the family Edestidae, Ornithoprion hertwigi, from the Pennsylvanian Mecca and Logan quarry shales of Indiana / Rainer Zangerl --. [Chicago]: Field Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.5302.

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[1] Schultze, Hans-Peter; Schultze, Hans-Peter (1981). Chondrichthyes I: Paleozoic Elasmobranchii. Handbook of paleoichthyology / hrsg. von Hans-Peter Schultze. Begr. von Oskar Kuhn. Bearb. von S. E. Bendix-Almgren. Ort nicht ermittelbar: Verlag nicht ermittelbar. ISBN 978-3-437-30337-1.

[:0-2] Nielsen, Egil (30 August 1952). "On new or little known Edestidae from the Permian and Triassic of East Greenland". Meddelelser om Grønland (144): 5–55.

[3] Zangerl, Rainer (1966). A new shark of the family Edestidae, Ornithoprion hertwigi, from the Pennsylvanian Mecca and Logan quarry shales of Indiana / Rainer Zangerl --. [Chicago]: Field Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.5302.

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