Palaeorhincodon

Palaeorhincodon Temporal range: 60–35  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Division:	Selachii
Order:	Orectolobiformes
Family:	Rhincodontidae
Genus:	† Palaeorhincodon
Species
P. daouii P. dartvellei P. wardi P. ypresiensis

Palaeorhincodon is an extinct genus of prehistoric whale shark from the Paleocene and Eocene periods. It had a similar distribution range of modern whale sharks with teeth from Palaeorhincodon being found in warm water areas such as North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. ^[1] It's teeth are very small being only 3 millimeters in height. There are up to 300 files of teeth in each jaw of Palaeorhincodon. ^[2]

Ecology

Palaeorhicodon presumedly behaved similarly to extant whale sharks, feeding on plankton, and larger pelagic animals like small crustaceans, fish and squid. ^[3]

References

1. "Rhincodontidae". Fossilworks.
2. "elasmo.com". www.elasmo.com. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
3. "elasmo.com". www.elasmo.com. Retrieved 2025-06-01.