The name’s literal translation, “Hoffman’s Dragon Shark,” is indeed quite excellent, however . Hodnett et al. say that Dracopristis is a new kind of ctenacanth shark.

Researchers recently named a 6.7-foot “Godzilla Shark” with 12 rows of teeth that lived 300 million years ago a Dracopristis hoffmanorum, or Hoffman’s Dragon. Jesse Pruitt/New Mexico ...

He named the 6.7-foot (2 meter) monster Dracopristis hoffmanorum, or Hoffman’s Dragon Shark, in honor of the New Mexico family that owns the land in the Manzano Mountains where the fossils were ...

The name harkens to the dragon-like jawline and 2.5-foot fin spines that inspired the discovery’s initial nickname, “Godzilla Shark.” ...