Otodontidae Explained

Otodontidae is an extinct family of sharks belonging to the order Lamniformes. Its members have been described as megatoothed sharks.^{[1] [2]} They lived from the Early Cretaceous to the Pliocene, and included genera such as Otodus, including the giant megalodon.^[3] Recent studies of the newly described genus Megalolamna indicate that the members of the genus Carcharocles should be reclassified as members of the genus Otodus.^[4] The genus Cretalamna which lived from the mid-Cretaceous-Paleogene is believed to be directly ancestral to Otodus, and thus to megalodon.^[5]

There are certain dubious species of Otodontidae inclued species where teeth are not properly described, such as Otodus debrayi, Otodus stromeri, Otodus rondelettiformis, and Otodus hastalis. These dubious species are considered to be synonymus or are pending reassesment of their validity.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mega-toothed Shark. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. 2019-09-21.
2. Web site: Extinct Megatoothed Shark May Have Been Warm-Blooded. Cartier. Kimberly M.S.. 2018-12-11. Eos. 2019-09-21.
3. Book: Joseph S. Nelson . 2006 . Fishes of the World . 4th . . 978-0-471-25031-9 . Order Lamniformes . 57–60 . https://books.google.com/books?id=-bO-2unzU-8C&pg=PA57.
4. http://phys.org/news/2016-10-large-prehistoric-shark.html Large prehistoric shark
5. Jun A. Ebersole. Dana J. Ehret. 2018. A new species of Cretalamna sensu stricto (Lamniformes, Otodontidae) from the Late Cretaceous (Santonian-Campanian) of Alabama, USA. PeerJ. 6. e4229. e4229. 10.7717/peerj.4229. 5764036. 29333348 . free .
6. Volume 1923 - Japan Chronicle Weekly Edition > Date 11 October 1923 . 2024-11-07 . Japan Chronicle Online. 10.1163/2214-9627_jc-japanchronicle-1923-19231011 .