Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 13, 2026

Propristis

Propristis is an extinct genus of sawfish that lived from the Eocene to the Miocene. It contains two valid species, P. schweinfurthi and P. mayumbensis. It has been found in Egypt, Cabinda, Morocco, Qatar, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Isolated rostral denticles are the most common remains, but rostra have also been found.

Last revised
Jun 13, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
422 w
Citations
19
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Propristis
Temporal range:
Rostrum of P. schweinfurthi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Rhinopristiformes
Family: Pristidae
Genus: †Propristis
Dames, 18831
Type species
†Propristis schweinfurthi
Dames, 1883
Other species
  • †Propristis mayumbensis
    Dartevelle & Casier, 19432
Synonyms
Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
  • P. schweinfurthi
      • Amblypristis cheops
        Dames, 1888
      • Eopristis reinachi
        Stromer, 1905

Propristis is an extinct genus of sawfish that lived from the Eocene to the Miocene. It contains two valid species, P. schweinfurthi and P. mayumbensis. It has been found in Egypt,1346 Cabinda,2 Morocco,7 Qatar,8 Spain,9 the United Kingdom,10 and the United States.11 Isolated rostral denticles are the most common remains, but rostra have also been found.1469

References

References

  1. Dames, W.B. (1883). "Über eine tertiäre Wirbelthierfauna von der westlichen Insel des Birket-el-Qurûn im Fajum (Aegypten)". Sitzungsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. 1883 (1): 129–153.
  2. Dartevelle, E.; Casier, E. (1943). "Les poissons fossiles du Bas-Congo et des régions voisines". Annales du Musée du Congo Belge, Série A (Minéralogie, Géologie, Paléontologie). Série 3. 2 (1): 1–200.
  3. Dames, W.B. (1888). "Amblypristis cheops nov. gen. nov. sp. aus dem Eocän Aegyptens". Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin. 1888 (6): 106–109.
  4. Stromer, E. (1905). "Die Fischreste des mittleren und oberen Eocäns von Ägypten. I. Teil: Die Selachier, A. Myliobatiden und Pristiden". Beiträge zur Paläontologie und Geologie Österreich-Ungarns und des Orients. 18 (1–2): 37–58.
  5. Kinkelin, F. (1905). "Zum Andenken an Dr. phil. Albert von Reinach. Mit Porträt". Bericht der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Frankfurt Am Main. 1905 (1): 63–72.
  6. Fraas, E. (1907). "Säge von Propristis schweinfurthi Dames aus dem oberen Eocän von Ägypten". Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie. 1907 (1): 1–6.
  7. Adnet, S.; Cappetta, H.; Tabuce, R. (2010). "A Middle–Late Eocene vertebrate fauna (marine fish and mammals) from southwestern Morocco; preliminary report: age and palaeobiogeographical implications". Geological Magazine. 147 (6): 860–870. Bibcode:2010GeoM..147..860A. doi:10.1017/S0016756810000348. S2CID 129386566.
  8. Casier, E. (1971). "Sur un materiel ichthyologique des "Midra (and Saila) shales" du Qatar (Golfe Persique)". Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique. 47 (2): 1–9.
  9. Farrés, F.; Fierstine, H.L. (2009). "First record of the extinct sawfish Propristis schweinfurthi Dames, 1883 (Batoidea: Pristiformes: Pristidae) from the middle Eocene of Spain". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 83 (4): 459. Bibcode:2009PalZ...83..459F. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.932.8681. doi:10.1007/s12542-009-0029-1. S2CID 13944399.
  10. Kemp, D.J; Kemp, E.M.; Ward, D.J. (1990). An Illustrated Guide to the British Middle Eocene Vertebrates. London: David J. Ward. pp. 36–37.
  11. Dunkle, D.H. (1951). "New Western Hemisphere occurrences of fossil selachians". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 41 (11): 344–347. JSTOR 24531222.