The Lamniformes are an order of sharks commonly known as mackerel sharks. It includes some of the most familiar species of sharks, such as the great white, as well as more unusual representatives, such as the goblin shark and megamouth shark.
Carcharodon is a genus of sharks within the family Lamnidae, colloquially called the "white sharks." The only extant member is the great white shark. The extant species was preceded by a number of fossil (extinct) species including C. hubbelli and C. hastalis. The first appearance of the genus may have been as early as the Early Miocene or Late Oligocene.
Squalicorax, commonly known as the crow shark, is a genus of extinct lamniform shark known to have lived during the Cretaceous period. The genus had a global distribution in the Late Cretaceous epoch. Multiple species within this genus are considered to be wastebasket taxon due to morphological similarities in the teeth.
Cretoxyrhina is an extinct genus of large mackerel shark that lived about 107 to 73 million years ago during the late Albian to late Campanian of the Late Cretaceous. The type species, C. mantelli, is more commonly referred to as the Ginsu shark, first popularized in reference to the Ginsu knife, as its theoretical feeding mechanism is often compared with the "slicing and dicing" when one uses the knife. Cretoxyrhina is traditionally classified as the likely sole member of the family Cretoxyrhinidae but other taxonomic placements have been proposed, such as within the Alopiidae and Lamnidae.
Otodus is an extinct, cosmopolitan genus of mackerel shark which lived from the Paleocene to the Pliocene epoch. The name Otodus comes from Ancient Greek ὠτ- and ὀδούς – thus, "ear-shaped tooth".
Isurus is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, commonly known as the mako sharks. They are largely pelagic, fast predatory fish capable of swimming at speeds up to 50 km/h (31 mph).
Ptychodus is a genus of extinct large durophagous (shell-crushing) lamniform sharks from the Cretaceous period, spanning from the Albian to the Campanian. Fossils of Ptychodus teeth are found in many Late Cretaceous marine sediments worldwide.
Anaethalion is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine and freshwater ray-finned fish related to modern tarpons and ladyfish. It is known from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous of Europe and northeasterrn Asia, roughly encompassing the Tethys Ocean.
Cardabiodon is an extinct genus of large mackerel shark that lived about 95 to 91 million years ago (Ma) during the Cenomanian to Turonian of the Late Cretaceous. It is a member of the Cardabiodontidae, a family unique among mackerel sharks due to differing dental structures, and contains the two species C. ricki and C. venator. Cardabiodon fossils have been found in Australia, North America, England, and Kazakhstan. It was likely an antitropical shark that inhabited temperate neritic and offshore oceans between 40° and 60° paleolatitude, similar to the modern porbeagle shark.
Dwardius is an extinct genus of cardabiodontid sharks which existed during the Cretaceous period in what is now Australia, England, France, and India. It was described by Mikael Siverson in 1999, as a new genus for the species Cretalamna woodwardi, which had been described by J. Hermann in 1977. Another species, D. siversoni, was described from the middle Albian of northeastern France by V.I. Zhelezko in 2000; the species epithet honours the author of the genus. A new species, D. sudindicus, was described by Charlie J. Underwood, Anjali Goswami, G.V.R. Prasad, Omkar Verma, and John J. Flynn in 2011, from the Cretaceous Karai Formation of India.
Meristodonoides is an extinct genus of hybodont. The type species is M. rajkovichi, which was originally a species in the genus Hybodus. The species, along with other Hybodus species such as H. butleri and H. montanensis, was reassigned to Meristodonoides by Charlie J. Underwood and Stephen L. Cumbaa in 2010. The species is primarily known from remains from the Cretaceous of North America, spanning from the Aptian/Albian to Maastrichtian, making it one of the last surviving hybodont genera, though records of the genus likely extend back as far as the Late Jurassic, based on an undescribed skeleton from the Tithonian of England, and fragmentary teeth from the Kimmeridgian of Poland, England and Switzerland. Other remains of the genus are known from the Coniacian of England, the Aptian-Albian of France, and the Campanian of European Russia. The morphology of the teeth suggests an adaptation to tearing prey. Fossils from the Western Interior Seaway suggest that it preferred nearshore marine environments, being absent from deeper-water areas, with it likely also being able to tolerate brackish and freshwater conditions.
Cretalamna is a genus of extinct otodontid shark that lived from the latest Early Cretaceous to Eocene epoch. It is considered by many to be the ancestor of the largest sharks to have ever lived, such as Otodus angustidens, Otodus chubutensis, and Otodus megalodon.
Cosmopolitodus is an extinct genus of mackerel shark that lived between thirty and one million years ago during the late Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene epochs. Its type species is Cosmopolitodus hastalis, the broad-tooth mako. In 2021, Isurus planus was reassigned to the genus, and thus became the second species C. planus. However, some researchers still consider both species of Cosmopolitodus as species of Carcharodon.
Pseudocorax is an extinct genus of mackerel sharks that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It contains six valid species that have been found in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and North America. It was formerly assigned to the family Anacoracidae, but is now placed in its own family Pseudocoracidae along with Galeocorax. The former species "P." australis and "P." primulus have been reidentified as species of Echinorhinus and Squalicorax, respectively.
Isurolamna is an extinct genus of mackerel shark from the Paleogene period. It contains at least three species and a fourth is sometimes placed in it. It is thought to be closely related to Macrorhizodus, Isurus, and Cosmopolitodus. Isurolamna arose in the Paleocene epoch during the Selandian age, and was extinct by the close of the Rupelian age of the Oligocene epoch. Some features which define this genus include a small, elliptical foramen (hole) in the middle of the lingual side of the root, triangular cusps except on lower interior teeth, and a relatively thick root with nearly vertical margins. The genus has a complicated taxonomic past.
Rhomphaiodon is an extinct genus of prehistoric sharks in the order Synechodontiformes that has been found in Late Triassic and Early Jurassic deposits located in Europe. The type species R. minor was originally named as a species of Hybodus in 1837 by Louis Agassiz. A second species, R. nicolensis, was added when the genus was named in 1993.
Pseudoscapanorhynchidae is a family of extinct mackerel sharks that lived during the Cretaceous and potentially the Paleogene. It currently includes Cretodus, Eoptolamna, Leptostyrax, Protolamna, Pseudoscapanorhynchus, and possibly Lilamna.
Ptychocorax is an extinct genus of mackerel sharks that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It contains three valid species that have been found in Europe and Asia. It was originally identified as a hybodontiform, but was later reidentified as an anacoracid. It has also been considered to belong to its own family, Ptychocoracidae. Ptychocorax is characterized by its unique dentition, combining Squalicorax-like, cutting anterior teeth with Ptychodus-like, crushing posterior teeth.
Pseudoscapanorhynchus is an extinct genus of mackerel sharks that lived during the Cretaceous. It contains one valid species, P. compressidens. It has been found in Europe, Asia, and North America.
