Carcharodon hastalis is an extinct species of mackerel shark that lived between thirty and one million years ago during the late Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene epochs. The maximum adult length is estimated between 5–7 m (16–23 ft).
| Carcharodon hastalis Temporal range: Late Oligocene-Early Pleistocene, | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tooth series of Carcharodon hastalis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Lamniformes |
| Family: | Lamnidae |
| Genus: | Carcharodon |
| Species: | †C. hastalis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Carcharodon hastalis Agassiz, 1843 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Its teeth can reach lengths up 7.5–8.9 centimeters (3.0–3.5 in) and are found worldwide.[3] It is believed to be an ancestor to the modern day great white shark, an argument supported by the transitional species Carcharodon hubbelli.[4][5]
Taxonomy
editA study on the phylogenetic relationship between Carcharodon hastalis and Carcharodon carcharias concluded that there is indeed a putative sister species of C. carcharias distinct from C. hastalis and proposed the taxon Carcharodon plicatilis for it, resolving the paraphyly issue.[6]
Description
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Carcharodon hastalis teeth can grow up to 8.9 cm (3.5 in) in length, suggesting a large shark. It was a very sharp and powerful cutting shape without a side saw blade. Its body was probably similar to that of modern great whites. It is also believed to have a cosmopolitan distribution, with C. hastalis teeth being found worldwide.[7]
size
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The maximum adult length is estimated between about 5–7 m (16–23 ft).[8][9] Smaller individuals were about 1.8–4.6 metres (5.9–15.1 ft) long.[10]
Broad-form
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The broad form is characterized by broad-shaped teeth often described as being identical to that of modern great whites besides the lack of serrations.[7] Fossil evidence shows that the broad-form is the direct ancestor of the species Carcharodon carcharias, and from the Pisco Formation in Peru show an evolutionary mosaic between them.[11][12]
Paleobiology
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Its large size, fossil record, and Reaching 7.5–8.9 centimeters (3.0–3.5 in) large sharp hunting teeth suggest that Carcharodon hastalis was a active predator. According to the fossil record it probably ate small whales, dolphins, tuna, and other fast pelagic fish, as well as seals. This is a predatory diet similar to that of the modern great white shark, and C. hastalis included more fish in its diet than modern great white shark.[13]The trophic level of C. hastalis was lower than or similar to that of the great white shark.[14].
Hunting behavior
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C. hastalis was a confirmed hunter of marine mammals.[15] It most likely would have been one of the major predators in its ecosystem, preying upon small whales and other mammals. Trace fossils in the form of tooth marks on the bones of a Pliocene dolphin of the species Astadelphis gastaldii reveal that C. hastalis attacked its prey from below and behind, much like the modern great white shark does. The deepest bite marks on the dolphin's ribs indicate the shark aimed for the abdomen of its prey to inflict a fatal bite quickly and incapacitate its prey, and that when the dolphin was attacked a second time, it was bitten near the dorsal fin, suggesting that the dolphin rolled over while injured. The size of the bites indicates further that the shark responsible was estimated to be 4 m (13 ft) long.[16]
A well-preserved skeleton of a juvenile C. hastalis from Peru described in 2017 showcases that the shark also included fish in its diet. Stomach contents preserved with the fossil show this shark also fed on pilchards such as ancient sardines (genus Sardinops), suggesting bony fish featured prominently in the shark's diet while it was young.[17]
competing hypotheses
editA paper on a new macroraptorial sperm whale found near Zygophyseter varolai hypothesized that sharks were one of the macroraptorial sperm whale's primary.[18]C. hastalis was found in the same strata, and C.hastalis is presumed to have been one of the macroraptorial sperm whale's food sources.[19] Primitive great white sharks such as C. hasalis preferred different habitats from Otodus megalodon and unilaterally is avoided them. This suggests that Otodus megalodon competitively excluded great white shark, including C. hasalis.[20][21]
References
edit- ↑ Klug, S.; Kriwet, J., "Skeletal remains of the Miocene lamniform shark, Cosmopolitodus hastalis, from Peru" (PDF), Erlanger Geologische Abhandlungen, 6: 99
- ↑ Ebersole, J.A.; Ebersole, S.M.; Cicimurri, D.J. (2017). "The occurrence of early Pleistocene marine fish remains from the Gulf Coast of Mobile County, Alabama, USA". Palaeodiversity. 10 (1): 97–115. doi:10.18476/pale.v10.a6. S2CID 134476316.
- ↑ "Carcharodon hastalis Agassiz 1843 (white shark)". Fossilworks. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ↑ Crumpton, Nick (November 14, 2012). "Great whites 'not from megashark'". BBC News.
- ↑ Dana J. Ehret; Bruce J. Macfadden; Douglas S. Jones; Thomas J. Devries; David A. Foster; Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi (2012). "Origin of the white shark Carcharodon (Lamniformes: Lamnidae) based on recalibration of the Upper Neogene Pisco Formation of Peru".
- ↑ Cione, Alberto Luis; Cabrera, Daniel Alfredo; Barla, María Julia (2012). "Oldest record of the Great White Shark (Lamnidae, Carcharodon; Miocene) in the Southern Atlantic". Geobios. 45 (2): 167–172. Bibcode:2012Geobi..45..167C. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2011.06.002. hdl:11336/139163.
- 1 2 "Great White Sharks and Prehistoric White Sharks".
- ↑ Patrick L. Jambura; Julia Türtscher; Faviel A. López-Romero; Catalina Pimiento; Jürgen Kriwet (2019). On the origin of the great white shark Carcharodon carcharias.
- ↑ Pimiento, C.; Cantalapiedra, J.L.; Shimada, K.; Field, D.J.; Smaers, J.B. (2019). "Evolutionary pathways toward gigantism in sharks and rays" (PDF). Evolution. 73 (3): 588–599. Bibcode:2019Evolu..73..588P. doi:10.1111/evo.13680. ISSN 1558-5646. PMID 30675721. S2CID 59224442.
- ↑ Purdy, R. W.; Schneider, V. P.; Applegate, S. P.; Mclellan, J. H.; Meyer, R. L.; Slaughter, B. H (2001). "The Neogene Shark, Ray, and Bony Fishes from Lee Creek Mina, Aurora North Carolina". In Clayton, E. R.; Bohaska, D. J. (eds.). Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina. 90. Vol. 3. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 71–202. hdl:10088/2006.
- ↑ Ehret, Dana J.; MacFadden, Bruce J.; Jones, Douglas S.; Devries, Thomas J.; Foster, David A.; Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo (2012). "Origin of the white shark Carcharodon (Lamniformes: Lamnidae) based on recalibration of the Upper Neogene Pisco Formation of Peru". Palaeontology. 55 (6): 1139–1153. Bibcode:2012Palgy..55.1139E. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01201.x. S2CID 128666594.
- ↑ "Jaws -- 4 million BC: How an extinct shark attacked its prey".
- ↑ Collareta, Alberto; Landini, Walter; Chacaltana Budiel, César Augusto; Valdivia Vera, Waldir; Altamirano Sierra, Ali J.; Urbina Schmitt, Mario; Bianucci, Giovanni (March 2017). "A well preserved skeleton of the fossil shark Cosmopolitodus hastalis from the late Miocene of Peru, featuring fish remains as fossilized stomach contents". Repositorio Institucional Ingemmet.
- ↑ Martin, J. E.; Tacail, T.; Sylvain, A.; Catherine, G.; Vincent, B. (2015). "Calcium isotopes reveal the trophic position of extant and fossil elasmobranchs". Chemical Geology. 415: 118–125. Bibcode:2015ChGeo.415..118M. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2015.09.011.
- ↑ Godfrey, Stephen J.; Perez, Victor J.; Jones, Marcus; Chapman, Phillip F.; Spencer, Nathan; Osborne, Jason E. (July 3, 2025). "New light on the trophic ecology of Carcharodon hastalis from teeth embedded in Miocene cetacean vertebrae from Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, USA". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 70 (2): 329–337. doi:10.4202/app.01241.2025. Retrieved August 19, 2025 – via ResearchGate.
- ↑ "Jaws -- 4 million BC: How an extinct shark attacked its prey".
- ↑ Collareta, Alberto; Landini, Walter; Chacaltana Budiel, César Augusto; Valdivia Vera, Waldir; Altamirano Sierra, Ali J.; Urbina Schmitt, Mario; Bianucci, Giovanni (March 2017). "A well preserved skeleton of the fossil shark Cosmopolitodus hastalis from the late Miocene of Peru, featuring fish remains as fossilized stomach contents". Repositorio Institucional Ingemmet.
- ↑ E., COLLARETA, A. and BIANUCCI, G. (2020) “A NEW RECORD OF PHYSETEROIDEA FROM THE UPPER MIOCENE OF THE PIETRA LECCESE (SOUTHERN ITALY): SYSTEMATICS, PALEOECOLOGY AND TAPHONOMY OF A FOSSIL MACRORAPTORIAL SPERM WHALE”, RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA , 126(3). doi: 10.13130/2039-4942/14284.
- ↑ new record of physeteroidea from the upper miocene of the pietra leccese (southern italy): Systematics, paleoecology and taphonomy of a fossil macroraptorial sperm whale (PDF)
- ↑ Godfrey, S. J.; Altman, J. (2005). "A Miocene Cetacean Vertebra Showing a Partially Healed Compression Factor, the Result of Convulsions or Failed Predation by the Giant White Shark, Carcharodon megalodon" (PDF). Jeffersoniana (16): 1–12. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 31, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
- ↑ Kast, Emma R.; Griffiths, Michael L.; Kim, Sora. L.; Rao, Zixuan C.; Shimada, Kensu; Becker, Martin A.; Maisch, Harry M.; Eagle, Robert A.; Clarke, Chelesia A.; Neumann, Allison N.; Karnes, Molly E.; Lüdecke, Tina; Leichliter, Jennifer N.; Martínez-García, Alfredo; Akhtar, Alliya A.; Wang, Xingchen T.; Haug, Gerald H.; Sigman, Daniel M. (22 June 2022). "Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions". Science Advances. 8 (25). eabl6529. Bibcode:2022SciA....8L6529K. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abl6529. PMC 9217088. PMID 35731884.