Date:10/17/2023 8:00 AM
Happy Tuesday everyone! Today's fish of the day is the extinct Helicoprion! As requested by Johnny.
The Helicoprion is an extinct genus of shark-like fish known for the 'teeth whorls' on their lower jaw. The defining teeth whorls are the best saved part of the fossils, often the only part found, well the rest of the body is not so easily preserved. Helicoprion, like sharks, are cartilaginous, and have few fossils due to this. This has led to significant speculation about the upper jaw of the helicoprion, along with other details.
The helicoprion was alive during the cisuralian to the guadalupian (beginning to middle stage of the permian period), a 20 million year time span. They can be found worldwide, with many fossils found in the Phosphoria Formation of Idaho, and the Ural Mountains in Russia.
Their diet consisted of soft bodied prey, as shown by the lack of wear on the teeth. The teeth in the spiral have differing jobs based on position, with the outermost being used for grabbing prey, middle teeth being used to spear, and hind teeth for grinding food. Like how modern sharks shake from side to side to saw off and cut prey in their mouth, the helicoprion can cut by repeatedly opening and closing the jaw, although it is thought that simply opening the mouth can be used like a knife slash.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday!