Ornithoprion

Name: Ornithoprion (Bird saw).
Phonetic: Or-nif-d-pree-on.
Named By: Zangerl & Rainer - 1966.
Classification: Chordata, Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii, Selachimorpha, Eugeneodontida, Agassizodontidae.
Species: O. hertwigi (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Uncertain.
Known locations: USA, Indiana.
Time period: Pennsylvanian of the Carboniferous.
Fossil representation: Teeth, skull.

       Ornithoprion was a carboniferous shark that was also related to the sharks Edestus, perhaps better known as the Scissor toothed shark, and Helicoprion. In fact it was the discovery of Ornithoprion that allowed for a more accurate reconstruction of Helicoprion with how the distinctive tooth-whorl fitted inside the mouth.

Further reading
- A New Shark of the Family Edstidae, Ornithoprion hertwigi from the Pennsylvanian Mecca and Logan Quarry Shales of Indiana. - Fieldiana Geology 16:1-44. - R. Zangerl - 1966.

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