Nature & Environment
Megalolamna Paradoxodon, A New Giant Extinct Shark Discovered
Elaine Hannah
First Posted: Oct 05, 2016 06:00 AM EDT
An international team of researchers discovered a new extinct shark through its fossilized teeth that measured about 4.5 centimeters (1,8 inches) tall and were found in Peru, Japan, California and North Carolina, United States. It is named megalolamna paradoxodon.
Megalolamna belongs to the family of Otodontidae and an extinct genus of lamniform shark that includes the great white shark and mako sharks. It lived during the early Miocene epoch about 20 million years ago.
Kenshu Shimada, the lead author of the study and a paleobiologist at DePaul University and the research associate at the Sternberg Museum in Kansas said that the new extinct species was a close cousin of the mega-toothed lineage. He further said that it is quite remarkable that such a big lamniform shark with such global distribution had evaded recognition until now, especially because there are numerous Miocene localities where fossil shark teeth are well sampled, as noted by Science Daily.
Shimada and the other researchers compared the fossils with the teeth of Carcharocles megalodon, which was the biggest shark ever identified. They said that Megalodon could grow up to 59 feet (18 meters) long and it could bite stronger than T-Rex's. They categorized the C. megalodon in a distinct lineage but both belong to the extinct family of Otodontidae, according to Daily Mail.
Shimada explained that the idea that megalodon and its close allies should be placed in Otodus is not new. On the other hand, their study is the first of its kind that logically demonstrates the taxonomic proposition. He further explained that the mega-toothed shark lineage represents a subset of Otodus. Its inclusion to the family of Otodus makes the genus a much preferred complete lineage known as "monophyletic group," which is the next of kin to the new genus Megalolamna.
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First Posted: Oct 05, 2016 06:00 AM EDT
An international team of researchers discovered a new extinct shark through its fossilized teeth that measured about 4.5 centimeters (1,8 inches) tall and were found in Peru, Japan, California and North Carolina, United States. It is named megalolamna paradoxodon.
Megalolamna belongs to the family of Otodontidae and an extinct genus of lamniform shark that includes the great white shark and mako sharks. It lived during the early Miocene epoch about 20 million years ago.
Kenshu Shimada, the lead author of the study and a paleobiologist at DePaul University and the research associate at the Sternberg Museum in Kansas said that the new extinct species was a close cousin of the mega-toothed lineage. He further said that it is quite remarkable that such a big lamniform shark with such global distribution had evaded recognition until now, especially because there are numerous Miocene localities where fossil shark teeth are well sampled, as noted by Science Daily.
Shimada and the other researchers compared the fossils with the teeth of Carcharocles megalodon, which was the biggest shark ever identified. They said that Megalodon could grow up to 59 feet (18 meters) long and it could bite stronger than T-Rex's. They categorized the C. megalodon in a distinct lineage but both belong to the extinct family of Otodontidae, according to Daily Mail.
Shimada explained that the idea that megalodon and its close allies should be placed in Otodus is not new. On the other hand, their study is the first of its kind that logically demonstrates the taxonomic proposition. He further explained that the mega-toothed shark lineage represents a subset of Otodus. Its inclusion to the family of Otodus makes the genus a much preferred complete lineage known as "monophyletic group," which is the next of kin to the new genus Megalolamna.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone