Carcharodon

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

## Carcharodon

Carcharodon carcharias (great white shark).

## Statistics

### Diet

Carnivorous

*Carcharodon* is a genus of lamnid sharks that has lived in all major oceans since during the Miocene.

## Classification

Megalodon was originally named "C. megalodon", which is still argued (including Michael D. Gottfried, Ewan Fordyce...) to be closely related to the great white shark. However, the shark has recently been assigned to multiple genera, including Otodus and Carcharocles. Procarcharodon was once considered valid, but is now considered a subgenus or a junior synonym. The genus is the namesake for the theropod dinosaur Carcharodontosaurus.

### Evolution

Molecular clock studies between 1988 and 2002 found the closest relative to the great white to be *Isurus*, which diverged 60-42 million years ago. Originally, the great white was thought to have descended from the megatoothed sharks, named for their massive teeth and, in turn, massive body size. Since their teeth were similar (large, triangular, having serrated edges and having dental bands), it was thought they were closely related. Scientists once classified the megatooths as *Carcharodon*, although disputed by which species evolved into the great white and why gaps in the record exists. Nonetheless, paleontologists charted the "lineage" back to the 60-million-year-old *Cretalamna*, the common ancestor of Lamnidae.

Today, great whites are closer to mako sharks and are descendants of a separate lineage as a chronospecies, who is unrelated to the megatoothed variety. This was proven by the discovery of the transitional *Carcharodon hastalis*. Another, *Carcharodon hubbelli*, was named in 2012, who exhibited many evolutionary transitions between the great white and *Carcharodon hastalis*, including the gradual emergence of serrations on the teeth. This occurs in a span of 8-5 million years ago. *Carcharodon hubbelli* transitioning represents a niche shift 6.5 million years ago, with enough developed serrations to feed upon marine mammals. Though the great white and *Carcharodon hastalis* are found around the world, *Carcharodon hubbelli* is known from California, Peru, Chile and surrounding coastal deposits. This indicates the great white originates from the Pacific. *Carcharodon hastalis* thrived with the great white until it occurs for the final time 1 million years ago. It may have brought additional species, such as *Carcharodon subserratus* (placement in *Carcharodon* debated) and *Carcharodon plicatilis* (distinction debated )

Beyond the most current theory, *Carcharodon* and *Isurus* may share a common ancestor who was primitive and looked like a mako. The identity of this species is debated, but *Isurolamna inflata* is a candidate. If this is true, the lineage would have split into two descendants. The one that represents the great white lineage is *Macrorhizodus praecursor*.

## 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

* †*C. acutidens*
* †*C. arnoldi*
* †*C. auriculatus*
* †*C. branneri*
* *C. carcharias*
* †*C. contortidens*
* †*C. debrayi*
* †*C. disauris*
* †*C. escheri*
* †*C. hastalis*
	+ †*"C. plicatilis"*
* †*C. heterodon*
* †*C. hubbelli*
* †*C. humilis*
* †*C. lanceolatus*
* †*C. lanciformis*
* †*C. leptodon*
* †*C. megalotis*
* †*C. mortoni*
* †*C. nodai*
* †*C. orientalis*
* †*C. purplei*
* †*C. semiserratus*
* †*C. subserratus*
* †*C. tembloris*
* †*C. toliapicus*
* †*C. turgidus*

### Reassigned Species

* †*C. caifassii* (=*C. carcharias*)
* †*"C." megalodon*
	+ †*C. m. indica*
	+ †*C. m. megalodon*
	+ †*C. m. polygyra*
	+ †*C. m. productus*
	+ †*C. m. siculus*
	+ †*C. m. yamanarii*
* †*C. etruscus* (=*C. carcharias*)
* †*C. productus* (=*C. carcharias*)
* †*C. rondeleti* (=*C. carcharias*)
* †*C. rondeletii* (=*C. carcharias*)
* †*C. sulcidens* (=*C. carcharias*)
* *C. smithi* (=*C. carcharias*)i
* *C. capensis* (=*C. carcharias*)
* *C. albimors* (=*C. carcharias*)
* †*C. arcuatus*
* †*C. branneri*
* †*C. brevis*
* †*C. costae*
* †*C. crassidens*
* †*C. crassirhadix*
* †*C. crassus*
* †*C. gibbesi*
* †*C. gigas*
* †*C. helveticus*
* †*C. humilis*
* †*C. intermedius*
* †*C. latissimus*
* †*C. leviathan*
* †*C. morricei*
* †*C. polygurus*
* †*C. polygyrus*
* †*C. productus*
* †*C. quenstedti*
* †*C. rectidens*
* †*C. rectideus*
* †*C. semiserratus*
* †*C. subauriculatus*
* †*C. tumidissimus*
* †*C. turicensis*

## Synonyms

* *Cosmopolitodus hastalis*
* *Isurus hastalis*
* *Isurus smithii*
* *Oxyrhina hastalis*
* *Oxyrhina acuminata*
* *Oxyrhina lata*
* *Oxyrhina trigonodon*
* *Oxyrhina tumula*

## References

1. ↑ https://oceana.org/marine-life/sharks-rays/great-white-shark
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://ourplnt.com/largest-great-white-sharks-ever-recorded/#axzz6xfsGMjOe
3. ↑ http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white\_shark/carcharodon.htm
4. ↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2016.1236795?journalCode=ghbi20
5. ↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2019.1666840?journalCode=ghbi20
6. ↑ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-71387-y
7. ↑ https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon\_no=124965
8. ↑ https://books.google.ca/books?id=cMRe5GmDXmUC&redir\_esc=y
9. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcharodon
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great\_white\_shark
11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-ieSLgOUU&ab\_channel=E.D.G.E
12. ↑ https://twitter.com/CoastalPaleo/status/1471911034160312320/photo/2
13. ↑ 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 13.11 13.12 13.13 13.14 13.15 13.16 13.17 13.18 13.19 13.20 13.21 13.22 13.23 13.24 13.25 https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon\_no=34605
14. ↑ https://www.fossilguy.com/gallery/vert/fish-shark/giant-white/index.htm#plicatilis
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon\_no=83173
16. ↑ https://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/carcharodon\_megalodon.html
17. ↑ 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 17.11 17.12 17.13 17.14 17.15 17.16 17.17 17.18 17.19 17.20 17.21 17.22 17.23 17.24 17.25 17.26 17.27 17.28 17.29 17.30 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalodon