Megalodon (bivalve)

For the prehistoric shark species, see Megalodon.

Megalodon Temporal range: Early Devonian–Early Jurassic ~412–182  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil of Megalodon
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	† Megalodontida
Superfamily:	† Megalodontoidea
Family:	† Megalodontidae
Genus:	† Megalodon Sowerby, 1827
Species
See text.

Megalodon is an extinct genus of bivalve molluscs that reportedly lived from the Devonian to the Early Jurassic period. ^[1] It is not clear, however, that all the fossils assigned to Megalodon from that span of time really belong in the same genus. Jurassic relatives of Megalodon such as Pachyrisma grande were closely related to the rudists. ^[2]

Species

• †Megalodon hungaricum
• †Megalodon longjiangensis
• †Megalodon rostratiforme
• †Megalodon yanceyi
• †Megalodon abbreviatus

^[1]

Distribution

Fossils of the bivalve Megalodon have been found in: ^[1]

Devonian

• Austria, Canada (Alberta), Germany, and Italy

Permian

• China and Malaysia

Triassic

• Bulgaria, Colombia, Hungary, Italy, Serbia and Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates

Jurassic

• Italy and Morocco

References

• Paleontology portal

1. "Megalodon". The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
2. Skelton, Peter W. & Smith, Andrew B. (2000). "Preliminary phylogeny for rudist bivalves: sifting clades from grades". In Harper, E. M.; Taylor, J. D. & Crame, J. A. (eds.). Evolutionary Biology of the Bivalvia. Vol. Special Publication No. 177. Bath, UK: Geological Society. pp. 97–127. ISBN   1-86239-076-2.