Description

About Carcharoïdes catticus Belgian Carcharoïdes catticus

Physical Description

There has never been a fossilized Carcharoïdes catticus found, is it not certain how this animal used to look like. But we do know what the teeth looked like: They Look like three triangles, one main and two smaller ones to the sides. Depending on the location and minerals present during the fossilization, these teeth can be found in a wide array of colours. The teeth found in Belgium tend to be blueish, greyish or brownish in colour. The size of teeth can also vary and gives an idea of the size of the animal.

Age and Distribution

Carcharoïdes catticus is from the Pliocene of Belgium. This shark lived approximately 33-5,3 million years ago. We know that this shark species was very wide spread over the world as teeth can be found in many locations.

C. catticus  co-inhabited the sea with other sharks like the monster shark Megalodon: (Otodus megalodon), Megamouth shark (Megachasma cf pelagios), Sleeper shark aka Greenland shark: (Somniosus microcephalus), Basking shark: (Cetorhinus maximus) and many more sharks. Besides sharks other animals swam in these waters like: bony fish, rays, birds and marine mammals like toothed whales, dolphins and seals.

About the Lamniformes Belgian Carcharoïdes catticus

Evolutionary Significance

Carcharoïdes catticus is an extinct shark, it is currently not known if they evolved into another species or died out. There teeth have certain similarities with other sharks like makos and sand tigers.

Taxonomy

Carcharoïdes catticus belongs to the Lamnidae which is a subclass of the Lamniformes. They’re more commonly known as the Mackerel sharks. As few other members of the Lamniformes from this time period are: Otodus megalodon, Megachasma cf pelagios, Cetorhinus maximus, Alopias latidens and Lamna nasus. There is one other Carcharoïdes known and that one comes from southern South America Carcharoïdes totuserratus