Most remains consist of isolated curved blades or "whorls" that are studded with teeth, that in life were situated within the midline of the upper and lower jaws.

Edestus is a Greek name derived from the word edeste (to devour), in reference to the aberrant quality and size of the species' teeth.

[2] Like its other relatives, such as Helicoprion, and unlike modern sharks, the species of Edestus grew teeth in curved blades or "whorls".

The type species is Edestus vorax, the holotype specimen (ANSP 9899) is very fragmentary and of uncertain stratigraphic and geographic provenance, reported to be from Muskogee County, Oklahoma, though this has been questioned.

[4] Edestus minor was described in 1866 by John Strong Newberry based on AMNH FF477, a single crown that lacks most of the root from Posey County, Indiana.

[5] Edestus triserratus was described in 1904 by Edwin Tulley Newton, from GSM 31410, which was found in the Coal Measures in Staffordshire, England which is a partial tooth lacking the apex of the crown.

[3] The whorls of Edestus are composed of numerous serrated teeth that have long v-shaped roots that are stacked on top of each other akin to roof tiling.

[5]As with most cartilaginous fish, preserved skeletal material is rare, due to the cartilage of the skeleton having a poor potential for fossilisation.

This general body plan is shared by active, open-water predatory fish such as tuna, swordfish, and lamnid sharks.

[12] In the description of the cranial material of Edestus, Tapanila and colleagues (2018) found that the tooth whorls functioned as effective grasping and slicing tools for soft bodied prey.

During the subsequent opening of the jaw mouth the Meckel's cartilage moved backwards and downwards by the adductor muscles, causing further slicing.

A placement in a separate genus is supported by its lack of a convex bulge opposite the tooth crowns, which is present on all other species of Edestus.