Dracopristis

, photographed along a roadcut near Jemez Springs, New Mexico The holotype of D. hoffmanorum was first discovered in May of 2013, when John-Paul Hodnett discovered the specimen from the late Carboniferous-aged strata of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dracopristis was formally described by Hodnett and coauthors in 2021. Around 87–90% of the cartilaginous skeleton, as well as the animal's coating of tooth-like dermal denticles and impressions of its body outline are all preserved. The genus name, Dracopristis, is derived from the Latin words , meaning , and , here meaning . The specific name, D. hoffmanorum, is in honor of Ralph and Jeanette Hoffman who own the Kinney Brick Quarry and helped conduct research on the taxon. The "Godzilla" nickname was inspired by the genus' defining exaggerated back spines and teeth, which are said to resemble the character. == Description ==

The type specimen of Dracopristis hoffmanorum is around in length, In the holotype specimen, the first dorsal fin spine is roughly long (about 27% of the length of the body), while the shorter second dorsal fin spine is roughly long. Both spines are ornamented with rows of small, rounded denticles along their lateral sides and two rows of larger, recurved denticles along their anterior sides. The first spine is strongly swept backwards, while the second is much straighter. Both dorsal spines articulate with the basal cartilages of the dorsal fins. The skin was coated in fine dermal denticles, the size and shape of which varied depending on their position on the body. The largest of these were leaf-shaped and distributed along the back of the head, whereas smaller denticles were present along the fins and rostrum. The bases of the dermal denticles were wide, and while they were tightly packed they did not overlap with one another. Denticles up to in diameter were present within the mouth and gill basket. Teeth The largest teeth of D. hoffmanorum could reach up to in width, and were arranged into 12 laterally positioned rows. Their appearance is similar to those of other ctenacanthiforms such as Glikmanius and Heslerodus in sharing a cladodont (multi-cusped) crown morphology and a d-shaped base (or root). Unlike other known ctenacanths, however, the cusps on the teeth of Dracopristis are relatively short, broad, and triangular in shape. The teeth possess five cusps each, with the central cusp being more than twice the height of the outer four. The tooth cusps are ornamented with multiple rows of denticles down their length in a unique arrangement. The dentition is morphologically homodont (teeth do not vary in shape), although the rows of teeth do decrease in size further back into the mouth. The teeth on the frontmost row are over twice the crown height of those of the backmost row. In the 2021 description, it is suggested that the teeth were shed very slowly. ==Classification==

}} Dracopristis was part of the chondrichthyan order Ctenacathiformes, Despite often being informally called "sharks", Compared with sharks, the ctenacanths had greatly enlarged ornamented fin spines, proportionally large mouths, and an immobile jaw. have been recovered elsewhere within the Euselachii, indicating the group as traditionally defined may not be monophyletic (a natural group). In the 2021 description of Dracopristis hoffmanorum, cladistic analyses were performed which found that the genus was most closely related to the Devonian genus Ctenacanthus. ==Paleoecology and paleobiology==

During the Pennsylvanian, New Mexico was covered by a vast seaway. and its teeth show adaptations for grasping and crushing prey. and it is considered one of the most diverse and well preserved fossil fish faunas in the Southwestern United States. == Notes ==