About: Synechodontiformes

Synechodontiformes is an extinct order of prehistoric sharks, known from the Permian to the Paleogene. They are considered to be members of Neoselachii, the group that contains modern sharks and rays. Their placement in the group is uncertain, some authors have considered them to be galeomorph crown-group sharks, while others have considered them to represent a stem-group to modern sharks. They have sometimes been considered a paraphyletic grouping, but Klug (2010) recovered the group as monophyletic. Members of the clade are united by two synapomorphies, "pseudopolyaulacorhize tooth root pattern present; labial root depression in basal view present". The oldest possible member of the clade are teeth from the early Permian (Cisuralian) of the Ural Mountains.