Kingdom Animalia Class Chondrichthyes Superorder Selachimorpha Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Subclass Elasmobranchii Order Lamniformes | |
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Similar Cosmopolitodus, Isurus, Otodus, Hemipristis serra, Carcharocles chubutensis | ||
Isurus hastalis
Isurus hastalis or Carcharodon hastalis, the broad-tooth white shark, is an extinct white shark that lived from the Eocene epoch to the Pleistocene epoch. Its teeth can reach lengths up to 3.5 in (7.5 cm) and are found worldwide, especially in Miocene and Pliocene marine deposits. It is believed to be an ancestor to the great white shark, a fact supported by the transitional species Carcharodon hubbelli, and most likely would have been one of the top predators in its ecosystem; preying upon small whales and other mammals.
A study by Ehret et al. in 2012 has suggested that I. hastalis belongs to the genus Carcharodon, rather than Isurus. Fossil evidence suggests Carcharodon is derived from Carcharodon (Cosmopolitodus) hastalis. Specimens from the Piasco Formation show an evolutionary mosaic of characters between C. hastalis and C. carcharias.
