Cosmopolitodus
| Cosmopolitodus Temporal range: Rupelian-Calabrian, | |
|---|---|
| Tooth series of C. hastalis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Subdivision: | Selachimorpha |
| Order: | Lamniformes |
| Family: | Lamnidae |
| Genus: | †Cosmopolitodus Glikman, 1964 |
| Type species | |
| †Cosmopolitodus hastalis Agassiz, 1843 | |
| Species | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Cosmopolitodus is an extinct genus of mackerel shark that lived between thirty and one million years ago during the late Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene epochs. Its type species is Cosmopolitodus hastalis, the broad-tooth mako (other common names include the extinct giant mako and broad-tooth white shark). In 2021, Isurus planus was reassigned to the genus, and thus became the second species C. planus. However, some researchers still consider both species of Cosmopolitodus as species of Carcharodon.
Its teeth can reach lengths up to 3.5 in (7.5 cm) and are found worldwide. It is believed to be an ancestor to the great white shark, an argument supported by the transitional species Carcharodon hubbelli, but as of 2021, no phylogenetic analyses have been done for proof.