Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 29, 2026

Edestidae

The Edestidae are a poorly known, extinct family of shark-like eugeneodontid holocephalid cartilaginous fish.

Last revised
Jun 29, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
239 w
Citations
2
Source
Edestidae
Artist's reconstruction of Edestus heinrichi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Holocephali
Order: Eugeneodontiformes
Clade: Edestoidea
Family: Edestidae
Jaekel, 1899
Genera

The Edestidae are a poorly known, extinct family of shark-like eugeneodontid holocephalid cartilaginous fish.

Similar to the related family Helicoprionidae, members of this family possessed a unique "tooth-whorl" on the symphysis of the lower jaw and pectoral fins supported by long radials. In addition to having a tooth-whorl on the lower jaw, at least one species of the genus Edestus had a second tooth-whorl in the upper jaw. The palatoquadrate was either fused to the skull or reduced. Edestids, along with the rest of the Eugeneodontida, are placed within the subclass Holocephali.1 The family disappeared in the Early Triassic.2

Restoration of the skull of E. heinrichi source ↗
References

References

  1. Tapanila, L.; Pruitt, J.; Pradel, A.; Wilga, C.; Ramsay, J.; Schlader, R.; Didier, D. (2013). "Jaws for a spiral-tooth whorl: CT images reveal novel adaptation and phylogeny in fossil Helicoprion". Biology Letters. 9 (2). doi:10.1098/rsbl.2013.0057. PMC 3639784. PMID 23445952. S2CID 6131252.
  2. Scheyer, Torsten M.; Romano, Carlo; Jenks, Jim; Bucher, Hugo (19 March 2014). "Early Triassic Marine Biotic Recovery: The Predators' Perspective". PLOS ONE. 9 (3) e88987. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...988987S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088987. PMC 3960099. PMID 24647136.
External links