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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), Ebersole et al. (2024), Cicimurri et al. (2025), PollerspoĢck et al. (2025), Cantalice et al. (2025), Popov et al. (2025).
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), Ebersole et al. (2024), Cicimurri et al. (2025), PollerspoĢck et al. (2025), Cantalice et al. (2025), Popov et al. (2025).
Species
O. (Carcharocles), O. (Otodus), O. apiculatus (syn. Oxyrhina enysii, Oxyrhina subvexa), O. auriculatus (syn. Carcharodon robustus), O. chubutensis, O. isoelicus, O. lanceolatus, O. levis, O. megalodon (syn. Carcharias rectidens, Carcharodon ferox, Carcharodon triangularis), O. obliquus, O. recticonus, O. sokolovi, O. subplicatus, O. tricuspis, O. trigonatus
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 |
| 2024 | Otodus Ebersole et al. p. 4 |
| 2025 | Otodus Cantalice et al. p. 14 |
| 2025 | Otodus Cicimurri et al. p. 11 |
| 2025 | Otodus PollerspoĢck et al. p. 121 |
| 2025 | Otodus Popov et al. |
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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
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Subg. †Otodus (Carcharocles) Jordan 1923
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†Carcharocles rectus Agassiz 1856
†Otodus (Carcharocles) angustidens Agassiz 1835
†Otodus (Carcharocles) sokolowi Jakel 1895
Subg. †Otodus (Otodus) Agassiz 1838
†Otodus apiculatus Agassiz 1838
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Invalid names: Oxyrhina enysii Davis 1888 [synonym], Oxyrhina subvexa Davis 1888 [synonym]
†Otodus chubutensis Ameghino 1901
†Otodus isoelicus Lawley 1876
†Otodus lanceolatus Agassiz 1843
†Otodus levis Gibbes 1847
†Otodus megalodon Agassiz 1835 [megalodon]
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Invalid names: Carcharias rectidens Agassiz 1839 [synonym], Carcharodon ferox Emmons 1858 [synonym], Carcharodon triangularis Emmons 1858 [synonym]
†Otodus obliquus Agassiz 1838
†Otodus recticonus Agassiz 1843
†Otodus sokolovi Zhelezko and Kozlov 1999
†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). |