Galeocerdo

This page is about a genus that contains extinct and extant species; species marked with † are extinct.

## Statistics

### Length

226-290 centimeters (7-9 feet) (male)
250-325 centimeters (8-10 feet) (female)
5.5 meters (18 feet) (largest)

### Diet

Carnivorous

*Galeocerdo* is a genus of requiem shark that has lived worldwide since the Paleocene and possibly the Late Cretaceous.

## Description

A massive *G. cuvier* tooth was discovered by Ashby Gale in December 2021 while collecting fossils from a harbour in South Carolina. The tooth is larger than any previously recorded specimen, and was deposited at the Mace Brown Museum of Natural History. A, likely lost, specimen was reported from Hell Creek in the 2022 PaleoFest.

## Ecology

Japanese human remains from the Tsukumo Shell-mound archeological site were excavated by construction workers in 1860. Among them was Tsukumo No. 24, a person who lived ~3000 years ago during the Jōmon period and was buried in the cemetery, who bore strange linear marks all over their body. Injuries sustained the entire body, and a project on prehistoric violence brought forth the true cause of these marks. They decided the cause was not human, as the marks did not match the tools used at the time. Instead, they noticed the marks were similar to the punctures, blunt-force fractures, striations, overlapping striations and incised gouges reported from shark attacks, and since no other animal in the area could have caused this, it was determined this person died of a shark attack. The Jōmon is characteristic of hunter/gathering, specifically offshore fishing. This person was likely attacked by a great white or tiger shark, since both would have existed, that was lured by their caught fish. Since the right leg, left foot and left hand are missing, it is safe to say No. 24 died because of his amputated leg, loosing their hand while trying to defend themselves and dying of blood loss and shock. The wounds on the rest of the body are characteristic of how sharks continue to eat a corpse after the kill, seeing as the entire body was injured and gnawed on, but was likely retrieved by other people due to how it was found in a cemetery. This is the first and oldest-known shark attack in human history.

## Species

* †*G. aduncus*
* †*G. alabamensis*
* †*G. clarkensis*
* †*G. crassidens*
* *G. cuvier* (tiger shark)
* †*G. davisi*
* †*G. denticulatus*
* †*G. eaglesomei*
* †*G. gibberulus*
* †*G. latidens*
* †*G. mixtus*
* †*G. rosaliensis*
* †*G. semilevis*
* †*G. subcrenatus*

## References

1. ↑ Péron & Lesueur, 1822
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/galeocerdo-cuvier/
3. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Galeocerdo
4. ↑ L. Agassiz. 1843. Recherches Sur Les Poissons Fossiles. Tome III (livr. 15-16). Imprimérie de Petitpierre, Neuchatel 157-390 [J. Alroy/R. Whatley/M. Uhen]
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://twitter.com/ToddRockford/status/1500640069815873538
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/CofCNatHistory/status/1487515378418954243
7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-ieSLgOUU&ab\_channel=E.D.G.E
8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon\_no=34643
9. ↑ https://www.fishbase.de/summary/Galeocerdo-cuvier.html
10. ↑ https://www.jstor.org/stable/1437661
11. ↑ Müller and Henle, 1837