Galeocerdo

Galeocerdo is a genus of ground shark. Only a single species, G. cuvier, the tiger shark, is extant. The earliest fossils date back to the early Eocene epoch, (Ypresian), around 56–47.8 Million years ago. While historically considered a member of the requiem shark family Carcharhinidae, it is currently considered to be the only member of the family Galeocerdonidae. While this genus was historically considered diverse, including 21 extinct species, morphometric analysis conducted in 2021 suggested that the diversity of the genus included only 5 extinct species much lower than previously assumed. The oldest fossils of the extant G. cuvier date to the middle Miocene.

Galeocerdo

Albert Kok · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
tiger sharkPBDB
Sits inside
GaleocerdonidaePBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Carcharhiniformes
Life habit
nektonicPBDB, for Carcharhiniformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Carcharhiniformes

Time the record covers

At least 48 million years on record.

The record covers at least 48.07 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 56 Mya to 0 Mya.

Paleocene — about 0 of 389 occurrencesEocene — about 131 of 389 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 20 of 389 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 207 of 389 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 19 of 389 occurrencesPleistocene — about 10 of 389 occurrences57–55 Mya — about 1 occurrence55–53 Mya — about 2 occurrences53–51 Mya — about 2 occurrences51–50 Mya — about 2 occurrences50–48 Mya — about 5 occurrences48–46 Mya — about 14 occurrences46–44 Mya — about 14 occurrences44–42 Mya — about 14 occurrences42–40 Mya — about 16 occurrences40–38 Mya — about 18 occurrences38–36 Mya — about 19 occurrences36–34 Mya — about 19 occurrences34–32 Mya — about 6 occurrences32–30 Mya — about 3 occurrences30–29 Mya — about 3 occurrences29–27 Mya — about 3 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 5 occurrences25–23 Mya — about 6 occurrences23–21 Mya — about 14 occurrences21–19 Mya — about 17 occurrences19–17 Mya — about 19 occurrences17–15 Mya — about 24 occurrences15–13 Mya — about 33 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 34 occurrences11–9.5 Mya — about 23 occurrences9.5–7.6 Mya — about 21 occurrences7.6–5.7 Mya — about 17 occurrences5.7–3.8 Mya — about 17 occurrences3.8–1.9 Mya — about 7 occurrences1.9–0 Mya — about 10 occurrences48.07 Mya11.7 ka57 Mya0 Mya

389 occurrences of Galeocerdo on record, most of them in the Miocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

389 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

164 formations

Calvert — 38.54°N, 76.73°WCalvert — 37.93°N, 77.51°WCalvert — 38.64°N, 76.52°WCalvert — 38.67°N, 76.53°WCalvert — 38.38°N, 76.99°WCalvert — 38.40°N, 76.50°WCalvert — 38.17°N, 76.81°WCalvert — 38.52°N, 76.51°WCalvert — 39.20°N, 75.60°WGehannam — 29.31°N, 30.18°EGehannam — 29.36°N, 30.16°EGehannam — 29.32°N, 30.07°EPirabas — 1.18°S, 47.22°WPirabas — 0.48°S, 48.17°WPirabas — 1.05°S, 47.16°WPirabas — 0.63°S, 47.54°WPirabas — 0.60°S, 47.31°WChucunaque — 9.13°N, 78.75°WChucunaque — 9.15°N, 78.79°WDammam — 25.23°N, 50.83°EDammam — 24.55°N, 51.07°EDammam — 25.43°N, 50.80°EBerchem — 51.20°N, 4.44°EGosport Sand — 31.53°N, 87.57°WGosport Sand — 31.50°N, 87.80°WGosport Sand — 31.50°N, 88.50°WQasr el-Sagha — 29.60°N, 30.67°EQasr el-Sagha — 29.32°N, 30.05°EQasr el-Sagha — 29.29°N, 29.99°ECantaure — 11.97°N, 70.02°WCantaure — 11.94°N, 70.02°WMidawara — 29.03°N, 30.13°EMidawara — 29.08°N, 30.11°EMidawara — 28.86°N, 30.62°EMidawara — 28.64°N, 30.88°EStatenville — 30.40°N, 83.00°WStatenville — 30.23°N, 82.63°WHarudi — 23.49°N, 68.75°EHarudi — 23.51°N, 68.69°EHarudi — 23.65°N, 68.68°EGatun — 9.35°N, 79.80°WGatun — 9.35°N, 79.84°WSubathu — 30.98°N, 76.98°ESelsey — 50.80°N, 1.21°WSamlat — 23.36°N, 16.03°WLisbon — 31.83°N, 88.31°WLisbon — 31.75°N, 88.10°WLisbon — 31.36°N, 86.52°WYazoo — 31.66°N, 92.90°WYazoo — 31.71°N, 87.96°WYazoo — 31.93°N, 91.94°WSanta Margarita — 37.05°N, 122.04°WSanta Margarita — 35.45°N, 120.28°WPisco — 14.34°S, 75.91°WBirket Qarun — 29.27°N, 30.06°EBirket Qarun — 29.28°N, 30.04°ELuanda — 8.76°S, 13.30°EGlobigerina Limestone — 36.08°N, 14.24°EGlobigerina Limestone — 35.90°N, 14.33°EUrumaco — 11.25°N, 70.27°WUrumaco — 11.24°N, 70.25°W

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The named rock units Galeocerdo has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 140 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 71 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Galeocerdo and its relatives

Miocene

Where Galeocerdo and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

3,417 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 310 sites for Galeocerdo, and this reads 240 of them. Of that, one read hit the database's own return limit, so every count below is a floor rather than a total. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

210 references

Each of the 389 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 198 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Galeocerdo

Credit
Albert Kok
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution-NonCommercial
Commercial use
the licence does not allow it

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itGaleocerdonidae through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Müller and Henle 1837