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Otodus
Taxonomy
Otodus was named by Agassiz (1838) [Sepkoski's age data: T Than T Eo-l Sepkoski's reference number: 884].
It was assigned to Squalidae by Gibbes (1847), Leidy (1873); to Lamninae by Hay (1902); to Isuridae by Rapp (1946); to Lamnidae by Davis (1888), Eastman (1904), Jordan (1963); to Lamniformes by Sepkoski (2002); and to Otodontidae by Herman (1977), Cvancara and Hoganson (1993), Otero et al. (2013), Maisch et al. (2014), Reinecke and Radwanski (2015), Trif et al. (2016), Szabo et al. (2017), Ebersole et al. (2019), Trif et al. (2022), Goedert et al. (2024), Ebersole et al. (2024), Cicimurri et al. (2025), Goedert et al. (2025), Maisch IV et al. (2025), Landau et al. (2025), Cicimurri et al. (2025), Pollerspöck et al. (2025), Cantalice et al. (2025), Popov et al. (2025), Cicimurri et al. (2026), Marramà et al. (2026).
It was assigned to Squalidae by Gibbes (1847), Leidy (1873); to Lamninae by Hay (1902); to Isuridae by Rapp (1946); to Lamnidae by Davis (1888), Eastman (1904), Jordan (1963); to Lamniformes by Sepkoski (2002); and to Otodontidae by Herman (1977), Cvancara and Hoganson (1993), Otero et al. (2013), Maisch et al. (2014), Reinecke and Radwanski (2015), Trif et al. (2016), Szabo et al. (2017), Ebersole et al. (2019), Trif et al. (2022), Goedert et al. (2024), Ebersole et al. (2024), Cicimurri et al. (2025), Goedert et al. (2025), Maisch IV et al. (2025), Landau et al. (2025), Cicimurri et al. (2025), Pollerspöck et al. (2025), Cantalice et al. (2025), Popov et al. (2025), Cicimurri et al. (2026), Marramà et al. (2026).
Species
O. (Carcharocles), O. (Megaselachus), O. (Otodus), O. aksuaticus, O. auriculatus (syn. Carcharodon lanceolatus, Carcharodon robustus), O. chubutensis, O. isoelicus, O. levis, O. megalodon (syn. Carcharodon triangularis, Carcharodon intermedius, Carcharodon akitaensis, Carcharodon ferox, Carcharias rectidens), O. minor, O. naidini, O. obliquus (syn. O. lanceolatus, O. giganteus), O. poseidoni, O. recticonus, O. schoutedeni, O. sokolovi, O. spathula, O. subplicatus, O. tricuspis, O. trigonatus
Species lacking formal opinion data
Entered
by J. Sepkoski on 2003-01-23; modified by M. Clapham on 2021-08-06
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1838 | Otodus Agassiz |
| 1847 | Otodus Gibbes p. 198 |
| 1873 | Otodus Leidy p. 351 |
| 1888 | Otodus Davis p. 13 |
| 1902 | Otodus Hay p. 304 |
| 1904 | Otodus Eastman p. 82 |
| 1946 | Otodus Rapp p. 510 |
| 1963 | Otodus Jordan p. 599 |
| 1977 | Otodus Herman p. 166 |
| 1993 | Otodus Cvancara and Hoganson p. 9 |
| 2002 | Otodus Sepkoski |
| 2013 | Otodus Otero et al. p. 19 figs. Fg. 4: 1-2 |
| 2014 | Otodus Maisch et al. p. 189 |
| 2015 | Otodus Reinecke and Radwanski p. 9 |
| 2016 | Otodus Trif et al. p. 509 |
| 2017 | Otodus Szabo et al. |
| 2019 | Otodus Ebersole et al. p. 26 |
| 2022 | Otodus Trif et al. p. 1793 |
| 2024 | Otodus Ebersole et al. p. 4 |
| 2024 | Otodus Goedert et al. p. 456 |
| 2025 | Otodus Cantalice et al. p. 14 |
| 2025 | Otodus Cicimurri et al. p. 11 |
| 2025 | Otodus Cicimurri et al. p. 8 |
| 2025 | Otodus Goedert et al. |
| 2025 | Otodus Landau et al. p. 10 |
| 2025 | Otodus Maisch IV et al. p. 13 |
| 2025 | Otodus Pollerspöck et al. p. 121 |
| 2025 | Otodus Popov et al. |
| 2026 | Otodus Cicimurri et al. p. 444 |
| 2026 | Otodus Marramà et al. p. 9 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. †Otodus Agassiz 1838
show all | hide all
Subg. †Otodus (Carcharocles) Jordan 1923
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†Carcharocles disauris Agassiz 1835
†Carcharocles rectus Agassiz 1856
†Otodus (Carcharocles) sokolowi Jakel 1895
†Otodus angustidens angustidens Agassiz 1835
Subg. †Otodus (Megaselachus) Glyckman 1964
Subg. †Otodus (Otodus) Agassiz 1838
†Otodus aksuaticus Menner 1928
†Otodus auriculatus Blainville 1818
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†Otodus auriculatus auriculatus Blainville 1818
Invalid names: Carcharodon lanceolatus Agassiz 1838 [synonym], Carcharodon robustus Davis 1888 [synonym]
†Otodus chubutensis Ameghino 1901
†Otodus isoelicus Lawley 1876
†Otodus levis Gibbes 1847
†Otodus megalodon Agassiz 1835 [megalodon]
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Invalid names: Carcharias rectidens Agassiz 1839 [synonym], Carcharodon akitaensis Ueno and Hasegawa 1974 [synonym], Carcharodon ferox Emmons 1858 [synonym], Carcharodon intermedius White 1927 [synonym], Carcharodon triangularis Emmons 1858 [synonym]
†Otodus minor Leriche 1909
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†Otodus minor mediavius Leriche 1942
†Otodus minor turkmenicus Zhelezko 1999
†Otodus minor minor Leriche 1909
†Otodus naidini Zhelezko 1999
†Otodus obliquus Agassiz 1838
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†Otodus obliquus ajatensis Zhelezko 1999
†Otodus obliquus mugodzharicus Zhelezko 1999
†Otodus obliquus obliquus Agassiz 1838
Invalid names: Otodus giganteus Delvaux 1888 [synonym], Otodus lanceolatus Agassiz 1843 [synonym]
†Otodus poseidoni Zhelezko 1999
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†Otodus poseidoni turanensis Zhelezko 1999
†Otodus poseidoni ustyurtensis Zhelezko 1999
†Otodus poseidoni poseidoni Zhelezko 1999
†Otodus recticonus Agassiz 1843
†Otodus schoutedeni Dartevelle and Casier 1943
†Otodus sokolovi sokolovi Jaekel 1895
†Otodus spathula Sauvage 1870
†Otodus subplicatus Agassiz 1843
†Otodus tricuspis Agassiz 1843
†Otodus trigonatus Agassiz 1843
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| N. Trif et al. 2016 | In order to make a distinction from the teeth of the great white shark from the genus Carcharodon, Jordan, Hannibal (1923) erected the new genus Carcharocles, based on the presence of lateral cusplets for the teeth of Eocene age. The original diagnose states: "Teeth similar to Carcharodon but with a distinct denticle on each side on the base of the crown of the larger teeth, the crown narrower and more recurved than in Carcharodon, edges of tooth and usually the denticles also uniformly and rather coarsely serrulate; the broad root extremely lunate in the anterior teeth." (Jordan, Hannibal 1923, p.56).
Casier (1960) was the first to recognise that the megalodon and great white shark lineages were distinct. He erected the name Procarcharodon for the serrated-toothed members of the megalodon lineage, unaware that this had already been done by Jordan, Hannibal (1923). Cappetta (1987), in the Handbook of Paleoichthyology 3B recognised Jordan & Hannibal's priority and advocated the use of Carcharocles for all the serrated-toothed members of what we now refer to as the megalodon lineage. Glikman (1964) was the first to refer of all the teeth of "Carcharocles" with lateral cusplets to Otodus. He referred megalodon to a new genus Megaselachus. His work was largely ignored until resurrected by Zhelezko and Kozlov (1999) and Cappetta (2006, pp. 328, 343) More recently Cappetta (2012, p.224), in the updated edition of the Handbook of Paleoichthyology, volume 3E, referred megalodon to Otodus. The lineage was divided up into three subgenera; Otodus (Otodus) for the unserrated Paleocene and early Eocene species, Otodus (Carcharocles) for the Palaeogene serrated species and Otodus (Megaselachus) for the Neogene species, including the giant species, O. megalodon. The transitions between Otodus (Otodus) obliquus and Otodus (Carcharocles) aksuaticus and Otodus (Carcharocles) auriculatus was figured in King et al. (2013). |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: o = order, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Carroll 1988, Wagner 2023, Hendy et al. 2009 | |||||
Age range: base of the Late/Upper Turonian to the top of the Waipipian or 93.90000 to 3.00000 Ma
Collections (619 total)
Oldest occurrences | |||
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late/Upper Turonian | France | O. spathula (242176) | |
| Late/Upper Coniacian | France | O. recticonus (242175) | |
| Campanian | New Zealand (South Island) | O. obliquus, Carcharodon auriculatus (101382) | |
| Late/Upper Maastrichtian | USA (North Dakota) | Lamna mediavia (84018) | |
| Danian | Russian Federation (Saratov) | O. sp. (214308) | |
| Danian | Morocco | O. obliquus (242161) | |
| Danian | USA (New Jersey) | O. obliquus (26820) | |
| Danian | Sweden | O. sp. (90575) | |
| Early/Lower Paleocene | USA (South Carolina) | Carcharodon megalodon (152239) | |
| Paleocene | Angola (Cabinda) | Lamna obliqua (242404) | |
Youngest occurrences |
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| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | PBDB collection number |
| Pliocene | South Africa | Carcharodon megalodon (74791) | |
| Pliocene | North Atlantic | O. megalodon (219757 219778 278446) | |
| Zanclean - Piacenzian | Japan (Okinawa) | Carcharodon megalodon (152398) | |
| Pliocene - Gelasian | USA (Florida) | Carcharocles megalodon (242028) | |
| Opoitian - Castlecliffian | New Zealand (North Island) | Carcharodon megalodon (152191) | |
| Blancan | Mexico (Baja California Sur) | Carcharodon megalodon (154118) | |
| Waipipian | New Zealand (Hawera) | Carcharodon megalodon (28039) | |
| Late/Upper Pliocene | USA (California) | Carcharocles rectus (200412) | |
| Late/Upper Pliocene | United Kingdom (England) | Carcharocles megalodon (152481 152482 152483 152484) | |
| Piacenzian - Gelasian | Cape Verde | O. megalodon (115645) | |