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. Carcharocles megalodon is still argued by some paleontologists to be a close relative of Carcharodon carcharias - as well as being in the same genus. The megalodon's scientific name was originally "Carcharodon" megalodon, but more recently, the giant shark has been assigned by most scientists to either the genus Carcharocles or Otodus.
Opahs, also commonly known as moonfish, sunfish, kingfish, and redfin ocean pan are large, colorful, deep-bodied pelagic lampriform fishes comprising the small family Lampridae.
The Gempylidae are a family of perciform fishes commonly known as snake mackerels or escolars. The family includes about 25 species.
Sarda chiliensis, the eastern Pacific bonito, is a marine species of bonito. It ranges from Ecuador to Chile. Sarda lineolata, which ranges from Alaska to Mexico was formerly considered a subspecies, as Sarda chiliensis lineolata, but this treatment renders the species geographically disjunct.
A piscivore is a carnivorous animal that primarily eats fish. The name piscivore is derived from Latin piscis 'fish' and vorō 'to devour'. Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evolution ; insectivory came next; then in time, the more terrestrially adapted reptiles and synapsids evolved herbivory.
Euzaphlegidae is a family of extinct escolar-like fish closely related to the snake mackerels. Fossils of euzaphlegids are found from Paleocene to Late Miocene-aged marine strata of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains, India, Iran, Turkmenistan, Italy, and Southern California.
Euzaphleges longurio is an extinct, superficially mackerel-like fish related to the escolar and snake mackerels. Euzaphleges was found off the coast of what is now California during the late Miocene. It was smaller than the very similar Thyrsocles and longer and more slender than Zaphlegulus, which also lived at the same time. It was much longer than the poorly known Trossulus.
Laytonia is an extinct genus of prehistoric halosaur that lived in deep water off the North American Pacific Coast from the Zemorrian Epoch until during the Upper Miocene subepoch, when tectonic uplift effectively destroyed the genus' habitat by making the deep water too shallow.
Bolbocara is an extinct genus of rattail that lived during the Upper Miocene subepoch of Southern California. It contains a single species, B. gyrinus. It may be related to the extant genus Bathygadus.
Tunita is an extinct genus of prehistoric mackerel that lived during the Upper Miocene subepoch of Southern California.
Lompoquia retropes is an extinct genus of ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums. These fishes lived what is now Southern California during the Upper Miocene subepoch.
Ioscion morgani is an extinct prehistoric bony fish that lived during the Upper Miocene subepoch of what is now Southern California. It is primarily known from incomplete fossils, such as the holotype, which consists of a broken backbone. Although the head is unknown, enough of the animal's anatomy suggests a relationship with the jackfishes of Carangidae.
Chalcidichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric manefish. It contains a single species, C. malacapterygius, that lived during the Upper Miocene of Southern California. It is known from the Modelo Formation in Los Angeles County, and specimens were found during construction of a tunnel on Sepulveda Boulevard. It is assumed to have preyed on siphonophores, like its living relatives.
Lampris zatima is the oldest known opah of the genus Lampris, from the Late Miocene of Southern California. Its fossil record is rather poor, known primarily from isolated vertebral columns, and a few headless specimens. Alive, it is estimated to have been around 20 to 30 centimeters long.
Mackerel is an important food fish that is consumed worldwide. As an oily fish, it is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. The flesh of mackerel spoils quickly, especially in the tropics, and can cause scombroid food poisoning. Accordingly, it should be eaten on the day of capture, unless properly refrigerated or cured.
Araeosteus rothi is an extinct species of bony fish closely related to the modern-day prowfish, Zaprora silenus. A. rothi is found in Late Miocene marine strata of Southern California, primarily the Diatom Beds of Lompoc and the Santa Monica Mountains.
Parotodus, commonly known as the false-toothed mako shark, is an extinct genus of mackerel shark that lived approximately 53 to one million years ago during the Eocene and Pleistocene epochs. Its teeth, which are found worldwide, are often prized by fossil collectors due to their rarity. The scarcity of fossils is because Parotodus likely primarily inhabited open oceans far away from the continents.
Megachasma applegatei is an extinct species of megamouth shark from the Oligocene to early Miocene of the Western United States. The type fossil was discovered in the San Joaquin Valley in 1973, but only described in 2014, when the species was named after its discoverer, Shelton Applegate.
Carcharoides is an extinct genus of mackerel shark which lived during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. It is a widespread genus, known from specimens in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is most common in the European portion of its range, being comparatively uncommon in other places. It is only known from isolated teeth, which are relatively delicate.
Ozymandias gilberti is a species of extinct ray-finned fish from the Miocene which was described by David Starr Jordan in 1907 from a single specimen, comprising the skull and some vertebrae, discovered from San Pedro, California. It is thought to be a species of large mackerel or tuna in the family Scombridae. Jordan initially assigned another fossil to this species but changed his mind and assigned the second fossil to the living Cottoid genus Ophiodon, the lingcod, as Ophiodon ozymandias. The specific name honours the discoverer of the fossil Dr James Z. Gilbert.
