C. megalodon Temporal range: Early Miocene-Late Pliocene, 23–2.6 Ma |
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Model of the jaws of C. megalodon at the American Museum of Natural History. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
Class: | Chondrichthyes |
Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
Superorder: | Selachimorpha |
Order: | Lamniformes |
Family: | Lamnidae or †Otodontidae |
Genus: | Carcharodon or †Carcharocles |
Species: | †C. megalodon |
Binomial name | |
Carcharodon megalodon or Carcharocles megalodon Carcharodon megalodon, Agassiz, 1843 |
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Synonyms | |
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Megalodon (/ˈmɛɡəloʊˌdɒn/ MEG-ə-lə-don, /ˈmeɪɡə-/ MAY-gə-; meaning "big tooth", from Ancient Greek: μέγας (megas) "big, mighty" and ὀδoύς (odoús), "tooth"—whose stem is odont-, as seen in the genitive case form ὀδόντος, odóntos) is an extinct species of shark that lived approximately 23 to 2.6 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era (early Miocene to end of Pliocene).