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Megalodon is considered to be a member of the family Otodontidae, genus Otodus, as opposed to its previous classification into Lamnidae, genus Carcharodon. [21] [24] [22] [7] [25] Megalodon's classification into Carcharodon was due to dental similarity with the great white shark, but most authors believe that this is due to convergent evolution.
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-(ōt-, meaning "ear") and ὀδούς (odoús, meaning "tooth") – thus, "ear-shaped tooth".
Otodontidae is an extinct family of sharks belonging to the order Lamniformes.Its members have been described as megatoothed sharks. [1] [2] They lived from the Early Cretaceous to the Pliocene, and included genera such as Otodus, including the giant megalodon. [3]
Members of the group include macropredators, generally of medium-large size, including the largest macropredatory shark ever, the extinct Otodus megalodon, as well as large planktivores. [ 2 ] Although some authors have argued that the Late Jurassic Palaeocarcharias should be considered the oldest known lamniform, this is disputed.
Size matters to these feuding scientists.
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This page was last edited on 21 October 2023, at 18:53 (UTC).; Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply.