The fossil whorls were a mystery. In 1899, geologist Alexander Karpinsky described an odd spiral of teeth, the first known fossil of its kind, uncovered from the ancient rocks of Krasnoufimsk, Russia.

Of all the vexing fossil mysteries that have confounded paleontologists, few have been as persistent as that of Helicoprion – the name given to petrified whorls of elongate teeth that look like 270 ...

A study in the Journal of Morphology shows how the bizarre prehistoric ratfish called a Helicoprion ate with its unique set of choppers. A Helicoprion was a prehistoric ratfish that featured perhaps ...

An ancient sea predator had a spiraling whorl of teeth that acted as a lethal slicing tool, according to new scans of a mysterious fossil. Helicoprion was a bizarre creature that went extinct some 225 ...

After watching the movie Jaws, I had a deep sense of dread about going into the water—even if the water was in a swimming pool. A similar hydrophobia came over me while reading the riveting new book ...