Helicoprion is a bizarre species of sharklike fish with a distinctive spiral jaw. Fossils were first discovered in 1899, but the only part of it that fossilized was the strange spiral jaw.
Since then, scientists have made numerous guesses at where this swirl of razor-sharp teeth belonged on the body of the creature, ranging from its top jaw, bottom jaw, tail, to pretty much anywhere you can think of.
If you do an image search for “helicoprion,” almost all of the pictures you’ll find depict the spiral of teeth curling downwards from the bottom jaw, like a circular saw.
Scientists have now been able to use an X-Ray CT scanner to take high-resolution images of Helicoprion fossils and produce a 3-D model of its skull.
They’ve found that it would have been located entirely inside the mouth, acting as a “tooth factory” at the back of the lower jaw and wouldn’t stick out.
While the mystery is now solved, 100 years of speculation has left us with plenty of illustrations of what could have been one of nature’s most comical creations.
Since then, scientists have made numerous guesses at where this swirl of razor-sharp teeth belonged on the body of the creature, ranging from its top jaw, bottom jaw, tail, to pretty much anywhere you can think of.
If you do an image search for “helicoprion,” almost all of the pictures you’ll find depict the spiral of teeth curling downwards from the bottom jaw, like a circular saw.
Scientists have now been able to use an X-Ray CT scanner to take high-resolution images of Helicoprion fossils and produce a 3-D model of its skull.
They’ve found that it would have been located entirely inside the mouth, acting as a “tooth factory” at the back of the lower jaw and wouldn’t stick out.
While the mystery is now solved, 100 years of speculation has left us with plenty of illustrations of what could have been one of nature’s most comical creations.
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