Editing Carcharodon

{{Short description|Genus of sharks}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|16|0|earliest=23}}
| image = Carcharodon carcharias.jpg
| image_caption = [[Great white shark]] (''Carcharodon carcharias'')
| taxon = Carcharodon
| authority = [[Andrew Smith (zoologist)|A. Smith]], 1838
| type_species = ''[[Carcharodon carcharias|Carcharias atwoodi]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| synonyms =
*''Procarcharodon'' <small>Casier, 1960</small>
| subdivision = *''C. carcharias'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small>
*{{extinct}}''C. carcharias-f'' <small>Lawley, 1876</small>
*{{extinct}}''[[Carcharodon hubbelli|C. hubbelli]]'' <small>Ehret ''et al.'', 2012</small>
*{{extinct}}''[[Cosmopolitodus|C. hastalis]]''? <small>Agassiz, 1843</small>
*{{extinct}} ''[[Cosmopolitodus|C. planus]]''? <small>Agassiz, 1856</small>
*{{extinct}} ''[[Carcharomodus|C. subserratus (escheri)]]''? <small>Agassiz, 1843</small>
*{{extinct}} ''C. plicatilis (xiphodon)''? <small>Agassiz, 1843</small>
*{{extinct}} ''C. caifassii'' <small>Lawley, 1876</small><ref name=":1" />
}}

'''''Carcharodon''''' (meaning "jagged/sharp tooth" in [[Ancient Greek]])<ref>{{Citation |title=Carcharodon |date=2022-01-02 |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Carcharodon&oldid=65143146 |work=Wiktionary |language=en |access-date=2023-01-04}}</ref> is a [[genus (biology)|genus]] of [[shark]]s within the family [[Lamnidae]], colloquially called the "white sharks." The only extant member is the [[great white shark]] (''Carcharodon carcharias''). [[Extinction|Extinct]] species include ''[[Carcharodon hubbelli|C. hubbelli]]'' and ''[[Cosmopolitodus|C. hastalis.]]''<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |author=Ehret, D.J.|author2= Macfadden, B.J.|author3= Jones, D.S.|author4= DeVries, T.J.|author5= Foster, D.A. |author6=Salas-Gismondi, R. |year=2012|title=Origin of the white shark ''Carcharodon'' (Lamniformes: Lamnidae) based on recalibration of the Upper Neogene Pisco Formation of Peru|journal=Palaeontology|volume=55|issue= 6|page=1139-1153|doi=10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01201.x|bibcode= 2012Palgy..55.1139E}}</ref> The first appearance of the genus may have been as early as the [[Early Miocene]] or [[Late Oligocene]].<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|author=Trif, N.|author2= Ciobanu, R.|author3= Codrea, V. |year=2016|title=The first record of the giant shark ''Otodus megalodon'' (Agassiz, 1835) from Romania|journal=Brukenthal, Acta Musei|volume=11|issue=3|pages=507–526}}</ref>  [[Megalodon|Carcharocles megalodon]] is still argued by some paleontologists (e.g. Michael D. Gottfried, [[Leonard Compagno]], and [[Ewan Fordyce]]) to be a close relative of ''Carcharodon carcharias'' - as well as being in the same genus.<ref name=":0"/> When Megalodon belonged to this genus it had the scientific name ''Carcharodon megalodon''. More recently, Megalodon has been assigned by most scientists to either the genus ''Carcharocles'' or ''Otodus''.

== Fossil History and Evolution ==
The fossil ancestry of ''Carcharodon'' is an active area of research and debate, given the dearth of the fossil record and the incompleteness of found specimens. Most ''Carcharodon'' fossil remains of  are in the form of [[Shark tooth|teeth]], along with some [[Vertebra|vertebral centra]].<ref name=":0" /> This is the norm for fossilized [[Chondrichthyes|Chondrichthyans]], since a shark's [[skeleton]] is made of [[cartilage]] and soft tissues don't preserve well. Thus, assessing relationships between fossil species relies largely on the form of their teeth. This difficulty is compounded by the incomplete fossil record of [[Lamnidae|Lamnids]]. However, some researchers have proffered ''[[Macrorhizodus]], [[Isurolamna]],'' and ''[[Cretalamna]]'' as candidates for genera ancestral to ''Carcharodon,'' taxa ranging from the [[Eocene]] to the [[Cretaceous]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>Martin, A. P. (1996). "Systematics of the Lamnidae and the Origination Time of ''Carcharodon carcharias'' Inferred from the Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Sequences". In Klimley, A. P.; Ainley, D. G. (eds.). ''Great White Sharks: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias''. Academic Press. pp. 49–53. {{doi|10.1016/B978-0-12-415031-7.X5000-9}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite book | editor-last=Klimley | editor-first=A. Peter | editor-last2=Ainley | editor-first2=David G. | title=Great white sharks : the biology of Carcharodon carcharias | publisher=Academic Press | publication-place=San Diego | date=1996 | isbn=978-0-08-053260-8 | oclc=392312939 | doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-415031-7.x5000-9 | last1 = Applegate | first1 = Shelton P. | last2 = Espinosa-Arrubarrena | first2 = Luis | chapter = The Fossil History of ''Carcharodon'' and Its Possible Ancestor, ''Cretolamna'': A Study in Tooth Identification | pages = 19–36}}</ref>

''Carcharodon'' is well-represented in the fossil record by the [[Miocene|Middle Miocene]]. The first widespread, cosmopolitan species being ''C. hastalis,'' with fossils recovered from [[North America]], [[South America]], [[Europe]], [[Australia]], and [[Asia]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-30 |title=Carcharodon hastalis |url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-vertebrate-fossils/species/carcharodon-hastalis/ |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=Florida Museum |language=en-US}}</ref> The modern [[great white shark]] has been posited to have evolved from ''C. hastalis'' through a [[Transitional fossil|transitional species]], ''[[Carcharodon hubbelli|C. hubbelli]]''.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Carcharodon hastalis tooth.jpg|left|thumb|220x220px|Extinct white shark tooth.]]
Study of white shark taxonomy is complicated by nomenclature and repeated taxonomic reassignments of various species. ''C. hastalis, [[Carcharomodus escheri|C. subserratus]],'' and ''[[Cosmopolitodus planus|C. planus]]'' traditionally were placed in ''[[Isurus]]'',<ref name=":0" /> given their superficial similarity to the teeth of mako sharks, leading many modern shark tooth collectors to still refer to these extinct species as "makos." They were later reassigned to a new genus, ''[[Cosmopolitodus]]'',<ref>Glikman , L. S. (1964). "Sharks of the Paleogene their stratigraphic significance." Nakua Press, Moscow, 229 pp. [Russian]</ref><ref name=":0" /> a genus maintained as valid in some current literature, and considered a junior synonym of ''Carcharodon'' in others.<ref>Yun, C. (2021). "A tooth of the extinct lamnid shark, ''Cosmopolitodus planus'' comb. nov. (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the Miocene of Pohang City, South Korea" (PDF). ''Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae''. '''18''' (1): 9–16. {{doi|10.35463/j.apr.2022.01.02}} [[S2CID (identifier)|S2CID]] 242113412.</ref><ref name=":0" /> ''C. hastalis'' has also been described as two morphotypes, "broad-form" and "narrow-form," which some authors have split into two species, ''C. plicatilis (xiphodon)'' and ''C. hastalis'', respectively.<ref>Whitenack, L. B. and Gottfried, M. D. (2010). "A morphometric approach for addressing tooth-based species delimitation in fossil Mako sharks, Isurus (Elasmobranchii, Lamniformes)." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 30, 17–25.</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>Cione A. L., Cabrera D. A., et al (2012). "Oldest record of the Great White Shark (Lamnidae, Carcharodon; Miocene) in the Southern Atlantic", Geobios 45, 167-172 {{doi|10.1016/j.geobios.2011.06.002}}</ref> ''[[Carcharomodus escheri|C. subserratus]]'', historically known as ''[[Carcharomodus escheri|C. escheri]]'' under the genus ''Carcharomodus'',<ref>Kriwet, J., Mewis, H., and Hampe, O. 2015. A partial skeleton of a new lamniform mackerel shark from the Miocene of Europe. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 60 (4): 857–875.</ref> has recently been reclassified back in to the genus ''Carcharodon'' as ''C. subserratus''.<ref>Godfrey, Stephen J., ed. (2018-09-25). "The Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA". ''Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology'' (100): 2–274. {{doi|10.5479/si.1943-6688.100}} [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] 1943-6688.</ref>

The fossil "mega-toothed" sharks like [[megalodon]] have also traditionally been placed in ''Carcharodon'',<ref name=":2" /> but most current literature refutes this position, placing mega-toothed sharks in a separate family, [[Otodontidae]], and genus, ''[[Otodus]]'' (''Carcharocles'').<ref name=":0" /><ref>Kent, B. W. (2018). "The Cartilaginous Fishes (Chimaeras, Sharks, and Rays) of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA". In Godfrey, S. J. (ed.). ''The Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland''. ''Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology''. The Smithsonian Institution. pp. 45–157. {{doi|10.5479/si.1943-6688.100}} [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] 1943-6688. [[S2CID (identifier)|S2CID]] 134274604.</ref> ''Carcharodon caifassii'' is the other species in genus ''Carcharodon''. It is a debated species, and is considered dubious. It lived in the [[Miocene]] and [[Pliocene]] period and was a possible ancestor of the [[great white shark]] (''Carcharodon carcharias'').<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lawley |first1=Lawley |title=Carcharodon caifassi |website=Mindat.org |publisher=1876 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hay., 1902 |first1=Hay., 1902 |title=Carcharodon |website=Mindat.org |publisher=1902 }}</ref>

==Species==
* ''[[Great white shark|Carcharodon carcharias]]'' <small>([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])</small> (the great white shark)
*†''[[Carcharodon carcharias|Carcharodon carcharias-f]]'' <small>(Lawley, 1876)</small>
*†''[[Carcharodon hubbelli]]'' <small>(</small><small>Ehret ''et al.'', 2012)</small><ref name=":0" /> (Hubbell's white shark)
*†''[[Cosmopolitodus|Carcharodon hastalis]]''? <small>(Agassiz, 1843)</small><ref name=":3">Agassiz, L. J. R. 1833–1844. Recherches sur les poisons fossiles. Text (5 vols; I., xlix + 188 pp., II xii + 310 + 366 pp., III viii+390pp., IV xvi+296pp., V xii+122+160pp.) and Atlas. Imprimerie de Petitpierre, Neuchâtel.</ref>
*†''[[Cosmopolitodus|Carcharodon planus]]''? <small>(Agassiz, 1856)</small><ref>Agassiz, L., 1856. Notice on the fossil fishes found in California by W.P. Blake. American Journal of Science and Arts, Series 2, 21: 272–275.</ref>
*†[[Carcharomodus escheri|''Carcharodon subserratus'' (''escheri'')]]? <small>(</small><small>Agassiz, 184</small><small>3</small><small>)</small><ref name=":3" />
*†''Carcharodon plicatilis (xiphodon)''? <small>(Agassiz, 1843)</small><ref name=":3" />
*†''Carcharodon caifassii'' <small>(Lawley, 1876)</small><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lawley |first1=Lawley |url=https://shark-references.com/species/view/Carcharodon-caifassii |title=Carcharodon caifassii |website=Shark-References |publisher=1876 }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Lamniformes}}
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[[Category:Carcharodon| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist)]]
[[Category:Shark genera]]
[[Category:Fish genera with one living species]]