Sarcoprion

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]

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
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Order:	†Eugeneodontiformes
Family:	†Helicoprionidae
Genus:	†Sarcoprion Nielsen, 1952
Species
S. edax

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

Reconstructed jaw and dentition of Sarcoprion (top right) alongside a whorl of the related Helicoprion bessonowi (left)

Description

• Fish portal
• Palaeontology portal

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]