Chondrichthyes Wiki
Advertisement

Carcharocles is an extinct genus of lamniform shark in the family Otodontidae dating back to the Eocene epoch and last appearing at the end of the Pliocene epoch. They include famous species such as Megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived. Members of this genus were among the largest predatory sharks of their respective time periods, and as apex predators, sat atop the food chain in the Cenozoic seas, preying on large sea mammals, fish, other sharks and other marine animals.

Though Carcharocles was highly successful as a lineage, no representatives of this genus of shark survived to modern times. The reason why is a mystery, though an global marine extinction event during the Pliocene epoch that destroyed 33 percent of all large oceanic species may partly be to blame. Other factors that may have played a role include climate change, competition, and prey availability.

Species[]

Seven species of the genus Carcharocles are known at present:

Advertisement