Otodus megalodon

Otodus megalodon, commonly known as megalodon, is an extinct species of giant mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.58 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Early Pliocene epochs. This prehistoric fish was once thought to be a member of the family Lamnidae and a close relative of the great white shark, but has been reclassified into the extinct family Otodontidae, which diverged from the great white shark during the Early Cretaceous.

Otodus megalodon

JJonahJackalope · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
megalodonPBDB
Sits inside
OtodusPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Lamniformes
Life habit
nektonicPBDB, for Lamniformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Lamniformes
Length
25 mWikidata

Time the record covers

At least 58 million years on record.

The record covers at least 61.66 Mya to 3.6 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 66 Mya to 0 Mya.

Late Cretaceous — about 0 of 347 occurrencesPaleocene — about 1 of 347 occurrencesPaleoceneEocene — about 0 of 347 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 2 of 347 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 282 of 347 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 60 of 347 occurrencesPleistocene — about 2 of 347 occurrences67–65 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences65–63 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences63–61 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences61–58 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences58–56 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences56–54 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences54–52 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences52–49 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences49–47 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences47–45 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences45–43 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences43–40 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences40–38 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences38–36 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences36–34 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences34–31 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences31–29 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences29–27 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 1 occurrence25–22 Mya — about 3 occurrences22–20 Mya — about 10 occurrences20–18 Mya — about 19 occurrences18–16 Mya — about 23 occurrences16–13 Mya — about 50 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 52 occurrences11–9.0 Mya — about 45 occurrences9.0–6.7 Mya — about 46 occurrences6.7–4.5 Mya — about 58 occurrences4.5–2.2 Mya — about 36 occurrences2.2–0 Mya — about 1 occurrence61.66 Mya3.6 Mya67 Mya0 Mya

347 occurrences of Otodus megalodon on record, most of them in the Miocene. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

347 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

131 formations

Pisco — 15.58°S, 74.72°WPisco — 14.56°S, 75.67°WPisco — 15.44°S, 74.87°WPisco — 15.50°S, 74.80°WPisco — 15.55°S, 74.80°WPisco — 14.34°S, 75.91°WPisco — 14.52°S, 75.71°WPisco — 14.35°S, 75.67°WTemblor — 35.47°N, 118.91°WTemblor — 35.30°N, 118.50°WTemblor — 35.27°N, 119.31°WCalvert — 38.54°N, 76.73°WCalvert — 38.60°N, 76.51°WCalvert — 38.67°N, 76.53°WCalvert — 38.53°N, 76.52°WCalvert — 38.18°N, 76.97°WCalvert — 37.93°N, 77.51°WCalvert — 38.16°N, 76.83°WChucunaque — 9.14°N, 79.75°WChucunaque — 9.15°N, 78.76°WChucunaque — 9.15°N, 78.78°WGatun — 9.35°N, 79.80°WGatun — 9.35°N, 79.84°WGatun — 9.30°N, 79.92°WUrumaco — 11.25°N, 70.27°WUrumaco — 11.22°N, 70.23°WBone Valley — 27.66°N, 82.08°WBone Valley — 27.90°N, 81.80°WBone Valley — 27.80°N, 81.98°WCantaure — 11.97°N, 70.02°WCantaure — 11.94°N, 70.02°WMonterey — 33.60°N, 117.70°WMonterey — 33.79°N, 118.36°WMonterey — 33.60°N, 117.80°WRed Crag — 51.80°N, 0.64°ERed Crag — 51.97°N, 1.35°ERed Crag — 52.09°N, 1.31°EStatenville — 30.40°N, 83.00°WStatenville — 30.23°N, 82.63°WWeissenegg — 46.89°N, 15.51°EWeissenegg — 46.78°N, 15.55°EWeissenegg — 46.80°N, 15.55°EWeissenegg — 46.74°N, 15.56°ESenhata — 35.16°N, 139.82°ESenhata — 35.16°N, 139.86°ECapistrano — 33.50°N, 117.66°WCapistrano — 33.64°N, 117.70°WLuanda — 8.76°S, 13.30°EGlobigerina Limestone — 36.08°N, 14.24°EGlobigerina Limestone — 35.90°N, 14.33°EPuente — 33.84°N, 117.82°WCaujarao — 11.47°N, 69.52°WYorktown — 33.65°N, 77.48°WYorktown — 33.48°N, 77.33°WYorktown — 33.79°N, 77.65°WLagos-Portimão — 37.08°N, 8.28°WLagos-Portimão — 37.12°N, 8.54°WZushi — 35.23°N, 139.69°EZushi — 35.26°N, 139.66°EZushi — 35.22°N, 139.62°EVarswater — 32.98°S, 18.15°EVarswater — 33.67°S, 18.43°ESan Mateo — 33.20°N, 117.37°WPort Campbell Limestone — 37.72°S, 141.93°E

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The named rock units Otodus megalodon has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 107 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 95 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Otodus megalodon and its relatives

Miocene

Where Otodus megalodon and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

2,294 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 317 sites for Otodus megalodon, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

172 references

Each of the 347 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 160 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Otodus megalodon

Credit
JJonahJackalope
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itOtodus through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Agassiz 1835)