''Otodus angustidens'' is an extinct

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of prehistoric megatoothed sharks in the genus ''

Otodus ''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 (, meaning "ear") and (, meaning "tooth") – thus, "ear-shaped tooth". Descript ...

'', which lived during the

Late Eocene The Priabonian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Eocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans ...

and

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

epochs about 34 to 21 million years ago. The largest individuals were about long. This shark is related to another extinct megatoothed shark, the famous ''

Otodus megalodon ''Otodus megalodon'' ( ; meaning "big tooth"), Common name, commonly known as megalodon, is an extinction, extinct species of giant mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Earl ...

''.

Taxonomy

The

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

naturalist

Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

, first identified this shark as a species of genus '' Carcharodon'' in 1835. In 1964, shark expert, L. S. Glikman recognized the transition of '' Otodus obliquus'' to ''C. auriculatus'' and moved ''C. angustidens'' to genus ''Otodus''. (See "external links" below) However, in 1987, shark expert H. Cappetta recognized the '' C. auriculatus'' - ''C. megalodon'' lineage and placed all related megatooth sharks along with this species in the genus ''Carcharocles''. The complete ''Otodus obliquus'' to ''C. megalodon'' transition then became clear and has since gained the acceptance of many other experts with the passage of time. Within the ''Carcharocles'' lineage, ''C. angustidens'' is the species succeeding ''C. sokolovi'' and is followed by '' C. chubutensis''. 4-25 Angustidens

In 2001, a discovery of the best preserved ''Carcharocles angustidens'' specimen to date by two scientists, Michael D. Gottfried and Ewan Fordyce, has been presented by the team as evidence for close morphological ties with the extant

great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocea ...

, and the team argued that ''Carcharocles angustidens'', along with all other related megatooth sharks, including ''Carcharocles megalodon'', should be assigned to '' Carcharodon'' as was done before by Louis Agassiz., although this is not internationally accepted by the scientific community. A more recent study of the taxonomic relationships of the related '' Megalolamna'' demonstrates the possibility that ''

'' needs to include the species sometimes assigned to ''Carcharocles'' (i.e., the megatoothed lineage, including

megalodon ''Otodus megalodon'' ( ; meaning "big tooth"), Common name, commonly known as megalodon, is an extinction, extinct species of giant mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Earl ...

) in order to be monophyletic.

Size estimation

Like other known megatooth sharks, the fossils of ''O. angustidens'' indicate that it was considerably larger than the extant

, with the largest individuals possibly measuring up to long. A well preserved specimen from New Zealand is estimated at in length. This specimen had teeth measuring up to in

diagonal In geometry, a diagonal is a line segment joining two vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, when those vertices are not on the same edge. Informally, any sloping line is called diagonal. The word ''diagonal'' derives from the ancient Greek � ...

length, and vertebral centra around in diameter. Smaller individuals were about long, still larger than the average extant great white shark.

Dentition

The

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiology ...

for ''O. angustidens'' is

Diet

''O. angustidens'' was an

apex predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator or superpredator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the hig ...

and likely preyed upon

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

s, and

baleen whale Baleen whales (), also known as whalebone whales, are marine mammals of the order (biology), parvorder Mysticeti in the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises), which use baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their mouths to sieve plankt ...

Fossil record

As is the case with most

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

sharks, this species is also known from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

and some fossilized

vertebral centra Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

. Shark

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

s are composed of

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. Semi-transparent and non-porous, it is usually covered by a tough and fibrous membrane called perichondrium. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints ...

and not

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

, and cartilage rarely gets

ized. Hence, fossils of ''O. angustidens'' are generally poorly preserved. To date, the best preserved specimen of this species have been excavated from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, which comprises 165 associated teeth and about 35 associated vertebral centra. This specimen is around 26 million years old. ''O. angustidens''

are noted for their triangular crowns and small side cusps that are fully serrated. The serrations are very sharp and very well pronounced. ''O. angustidens'' was a widely distributed species with fossils found in:''Carcharocles angustidens''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks was a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was cr ...

.org A fossil bed in South Carolina suggests that ''O. angustidens'' utilized the area as a birthing ground and nursery for their pups, as 89% of the teeth found in the area belonged to juveniles, 3% belonged to infants, and 8% belonged to adults. ;North America * Yazoo Formation,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

* Jewett Sand Formation,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

* Clinchfield Formation,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Calvert Formation The Calvert Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware. It preserves fossils dating back to the early to middle Miocene, Miocene epoch of the Neogene Period (geology), period. It is one of the three ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

* Jackson Group,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

* Kirkwood Formation,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

* Castle Hayne Formation,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

* Hawthorne Formation,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Chandler Bridge Formation The Chandler Bridge Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in South Carolina. It preserves fossils dating back to the Chattian (Late Oligocene) of the Paleogene Period (geology), period, corresponding to the Arikareean in the Nort ...

;Europe *

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Paris Basin The Paris Basin () is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* Leipzig / Stoermthal,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

;Asia * Ashiya Group,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

;Oceania * Ettric,

Jan Juc Jan Juc () is a suburb of Torquay, Victoria in Australia. At the 2016 census, Jan Juc had a population of 3,683. History Nearby Bellbrae was originally called Jan Juc but was renamed in 1923, so the Jan Juc Post Office, which opened on 25 ...

, Gambier Limestone, Clifton Formations,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

* Otekaike Formation,

;Africa ;South America *

Dos Bocas Formation The Dos Bocas Formation is a sedimentary geological formation of the Progreso Basin in southwestern Ecuador. It is dated to the Chattian, about 26 to 24 Ma, (Deseadan in the SALMA classification). Description The formation comprises moderatel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

References

External links

A large extinct white shark: Carcharodon angustidens from New Zealand Oligocene rocks.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carcharocles Angustidens angustidens Oligocene sharks Miocene sharks Chattian species first appearances Aquitanian species extinctions Fossils of Australia Paleogene Ecuador Fossils of Ecuador Fossils of France Fossils of Japan Fossils of New Zealand Paleogene United States Fossils of Georgia (U.S. state) Fossils of Mississippi Fossils of New Jersey Fossils of North Carolina Fossils of South Carolina otodus a Taxa named by Louis Agassiz