Otodontidae | |
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Teeth and jaws of Cretalamna hattini | |
Three otodontid species, from left to right there is Cretalamna, Otodus obliquus and Otodus megalodon | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Chondrichthyes |
Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
Subdivision: | Selachimorpha |
Order: | Lamniformes |
Superfamily: | Lamnoidea |
Family: | †Otodontidae Gluckman 1964 |
Genera | |
Cretalamna |
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] Recent studies of the newly described genus Megalolamna indicate that the members of the genus Carcharocles should be reclassified as members of the genus Otodus.[4] The genus Cretalamna which lived from the mid-Cretaceous-Paleogene is believed to be directly ancestral to Otodus, and thus to megalodon.[5]
The Otodontidae inclued species where teeth are not rightly described, such as Otodus debrayi, Otodus stromeri, Otodus rondelettiformis, and Otodus hastalis (doubtful O. hastalis).