Galeocerdo aduncus

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 aduncus

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
Sits inside
GaleocerdoPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Carcharhiniformes
Life habit
nektonicPBDB, for Carcharhiniformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Carcharhiniformes

Time the record covers

At least 32 million years on record.

The record covers at least 37.71 Mya to 5.333 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 48.07 Mya to 2.58 Mya.

Eocene — about 3 of 139 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 7 of 139 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 124 of 139 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 5 of 139 occurrencesPleistocene — about 0 of 139 occurrences49–47 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences47–46 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences46–44 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences44–43 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences43–41 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences41–40 Mya — about 1.0 occurrences40–38 Mya — about 1 occurrence38–36 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences36–35 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences35–33 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences33–32 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences32–30 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences30–28 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences28–27 Mya — about 1.0 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 2 occurrences25–24 Mya — about 2 occurrences24–22 Mya — about 4 occurrences22–21 Mya — about 6 occurrences21–19 Mya — about 9 occurrences19–17 Mya — about 10 occurrences17–16 Mya — about 10 occurrences16–14 Mya — about 20 occurrences14–13 Mya — about 22 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 16 occurrences11–9.6 Mya — about 9 occurrences9.6–8.0 Mya — about 8 occurrences8.0–6.4 Mya — about 7 occurrences6.4–4.8 Mya — about 6 occurrences4.8–3.2 Mya — about 4 occurrences3.2–1.7 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences37.71 Mya5.333 Mya49 Mya1.7 Mya

139 occurrences of Galeocerdo aduncus on record, most of them in the Miocene. 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

139 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

74 formations

Calvert — 38.54°N, 76.73°WCalvert — 38.64°N, 76.52°WCalvert — 38.67°N, 76.53°WCalvert — 38.40°N, 76.50°WCalvert — 38.17°N, 76.81°WCalvert — 38.52°N, 76.51°WCalvert — 39.20°N, 75.60°WBerchem — 51.20°N, 4.44°EPisco — 14.34°S, 75.91°WCantaure — 11.97°N, 70.02°WCantaure — 11.94°N, 70.02°WStatenville — 30.40°N, 83.00°WStatenville — 30.23°N, 82.63°WGlobigerina Limestone — 36.08°N, 14.24°EGlobigerina Limestone — 35.90°N, 14.33°ELagos-Portimão — 37.08°N, 8.28°WLagos-Portimão — 37.08°N, 8.67°WBlack Rock Sandstone — 37.99°S, 145.04°EBlack Rock Sandstone — 37.98°S, 145.05°EParana — 31.38°S, 60.23°WParana — 32.08°S, 60.49°WChoptank — 38.50°N, 76.51°WChoptank — 38.16°N, 76.83°WBreda — 51.97°N, 6.73°EBreda — 51.47°N, 5.80°EWeissenegg — 46.74°N, 15.56°EChucunaque — 9.15°N, 78.76°WCaujarao — 11.50°N, 69.52°WBhuban — 23.75°N, 92.68°EHarudi — 23.51°N, 68.69°EHarudi — 23.65°N, 68.68°EGatun — 9.35°N, 79.80°WDam — 25.98°N, 49.39°EFilakovo — 48.31°N, 19.70°ELoxton — 34.15°S, 139.91°EGrund — 48.63°N, 16.06°EPort Campbell Limestone — 37.72°S, 141.93°EBatesford Limestone — 38.09°S, 144.28°EFushina — 35.24°N, 133.24°E

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Galeocerdo aduncus has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 50 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 32 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Galeocerdo aduncus and its relatives

Miocene

Where Galeocerdo aduncus and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

1,628 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 133 sites for Galeocerdo aduncus, and this reads all of them. 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

99 references

Each of the 139 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. 87 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 content1

Picture of Galeocerdo aduncus

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

No 3D scan of Galeocerdo aduncus was found in MorphoSource and Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access was 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 itGaleocerdo through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Agassiz 1835)