Lamnidae

The Lamnidae are the family of mackerel sharks known as white sharks. They are large, fast-swimming predatory fish found in oceans worldwide, though they prefer environments with colder water. The name of the family is formed from the Greek word ''lamna'', which means "fish of prey", and was derived from the Greek legendary creature, the Lamia.: ''A source-book of biological names and terms'', 1944, Edmund Carroll Jaeger

These sharks have pointed snouts, spindle-shaped bodies, and large gill openings. The first dorsal fin is large, high, stiff and angular or somewhat rounded. The second dorsal and anal fins are minute. The caudal peduncle has a couple of less distinct keels. The teeth are gigantic. The fifth gill opening is in front of the pectoral fin and spiracles are sometimes absent. They are powerful, heavily built sharks, sometimes weighing nearly twice as much as other sharks of comparable length from other families. Many sharks in the family are among the fastest-swimming fish, although the massive great white shark is slower due to its large size.

Genera and species

The family contains five living species in three genera and these selected extinct genera and species:
* Genus †'' Carchariolamna'' Hora, 1939
**†'' Carchariolamna heroni'' Hora, 1939
* Genus '' Carcharodon'' Smith, 1838
** ''Carcharodon carcharias'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (great white shark)
**†'' Carcharodon hubbelli'' Ehret, Macfadden, Jones, Devries, Foster & Salas-Gismondi, 2012 (Hubbell's white shark)
**†'' Carcharodon caifassii''? " Bryant's or Common White shark" (Lawley, 1876)
* Genus †'' Corax'' Agassiz 1843
* Genus †'' Cosmopolitodus'' Glikman, 1964
**†'' Cosmopolitodus hastalis'' Agassiz, 1843 (broad-toothed mako)
**†'' Cosmopolitodus xiphodon'' Agassiz, 1843
* Genus †'' Carcharomodus''
**†'' Carcharomodus escheri'' Agassiz, 1843
* Genus '' Isurus'' Rafinesque, 1810
** '' Isurus oxyrinchus'' Rafinesque, 1810 (shortfin mako)
** '' Isurus paucus'' Guitart-Manday, 1966 (longfin mako)
**†'' Isurus desori'' Agassiz, 1843
**†'' Isurus subserratus= ''Carcharomodus escheri'' '' Agassiz, 1843
**†'' Isurus flandricus'' Leriche, 1910
**†'' Isurus minutus'' Agassiz, 1843
**†'' Isurus nakaminatoensis'' Saito, 1961
**†'' Isurus planus'' Agassiz, 1856
**†'' Isurus praecursor'' Leriche, 1905
**†'' Isurus rameshi'' Mehrotra, Mishra & Srivastava, 1973
* Genus †'' Isurolamna'' Cappetta, 1976
**†'' Isurolamna affinis'' Casier, 1946
**†'' Isurolamna bajarunasi'' Glikman & Zhelezko, 1985
**†'' Isurolamna gracilis'' Le Hon, 1871
**†'' Isurolamna inflata'' Leriche, 1905
* Genus †'' Karaisurus'' Kozlov in Zhelezko & Kozlov, 1999
**†'' Karaisurus demidkini'' Kozlov in Zhelezko & Kozlov, 1999
* Genus †'' Lamiostoma'' Glikman, 1964
**†'' Lamiostoma belyaevi'' Glikman, 1964
**†'' Lamiostoma stolarovi'' Glikman & Zhelezko in Zhelezko & Kozlov, 1999
* Genus '' Lamna'' Cuvier, 1816
** '' Lamna ditropis'' Hubbs & Follett, 1947 (salmon shark)
** '' Lamna nasus'' Bonnaterre, 1788 (porbeagle)
**†'' Lamna attenuata'' Davis, 1888
**†'' Lamna carinata'' Davis, 1888
**†'' Lamna hectori'' Davis, 1888
**†'' Lamna marginalis'' Davis, 1888
**†'' Lamna quinquelateralis'' Cragin, 1894
**†'' Lamna trigeri'' Coquand, 1860
**†'' Lamna trigonata'' Agassiz, 1843
* Genus †'' Lethenia'' Leriche, 1910
**†'' Lethenia vandenbroecki'' Winkler, 1880
* Genus †'' Macrorhizodus'' Glikman, 1964
**†'' Macrorhizodus americanus'' Leriche, 1942
**†'' Macrorhizodus nolfi'' Zhelezko, 1999

See also

* List of sharks
* Shark
* List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish

References

*

{{Taxonbar, from=Q136902

Extant Late Cretaceous first appearances
Ovoviviparous fish
Shark families
Taxa named by Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle
Taxa named by Johannes Peter Müller