Megalodon

C. megalodon Temporal range: Early Miocene-Late Pliocene, 23–2.6 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
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
Synonyms
Procarcharodon megalodon Casier, 1960 Megaselachus megalodon Glikman, 1964 Otodus megalodon Agassiz, 1843

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).