The Lamniformes (, from Greek lamna "fish of prey") are an order of sharks commonly known as mackerel sharks (which may also refer specifically to the family Lamnidae). It includes some of the most familiar species of sharks, such as the great white and mako sharks as well as less familiar ones, such as the goblin shark and megamouth shark.
Members of the order are distinguished by possessing two dorsal fins, an anal fin, five gill slits, eyes without nictitating membranes, and a mouth extending behind the eyes. Species in two families of Lamniformes – Lamnidae and Alopiidae – are distinguished for maintaining a higher body temperature than the surrounding waters.
Members of the group include macropredators, generally of medium-large size, including the largest macropredatory shark ever, the extinct Otodus megalodon, as well as large planktivores.
Although some authors have argued that the Late Jurassic Palaeocarcharias should be considered the oldest known lamniform, this is disputed. The earliest unambiguous records of lamniformes are from the Early Cretaceous. Lamniformes underwent a major adaptive radiation during the Cretaceous and became prominent elements of oceanic ecosystems. They reached their highest diversity during the Late Cretaceous, but severely declined during the K-Pg extinction, before rebounding to a high but lower diversity peak during the Paleogene. Lamniformes have declined in diversity since the Eocene, with only 15 species alive today, compared to over 290 extant species in the Carcharhiniformes, which have evolved into medium and large body sizes during the same timeframe. The causes of the decline are uncertain, but are likely to have involved both biotic factors like competition and non-biotic factors like temperature and sea level.
Species The order Lamniformes includes 10 families with 22 species, with a total of eight living families and 15 living species:
Order Lamniformes Family Alopiidae Bonaparte, 1838 (thresher sharks) Genus Alopias Rafinesque, 1810 Alopias pelagicus Nakamura, 1935 (pelagic thresher) Alopias superciliosus R. T. Lowe, 1841 (bigeye thresher) Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788) (common thresher) Family †Anacoracidae Capetta, 1987 (extinct, Cretaceous period) Genus †Squalicorax (crow sharks)
Genus †Scindocorax Genus †Nanocorax Genus †Ptychocorax Family †Aquilolamnidae Vullo et al., 2021? (eagle sharks) (extinct, Late Cretaceous period) Genus †Aquilolamna Vullo et al., 2021 †Aquilolamna milarcae Vullo et al., 2021 Family Carchariidae Müller & Henle, 1838 Genus Carcharias Rafinesque, 1810 Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810 (sand tiger shark) Family Cetorhinidae Gill, 1862 Genus Cetorhinus Blainville, 1816 Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765) (basking shark) †Cetorhinus huddlestoni (Welton, 2014) †Cetorhinus piersoni (Welton, 2015) Genus †Keasius (Welton, 2013) Family †Eoptolamnidae (extinct, Late Cretaceous period) Genus †Eoptolamna †Eoptolamna eccentrolopha Genus †Leptostyrax †Leptostyrax macrorhiza Genus †Protolamna †Protolamna sokolovi †Protolamna borodini †Protolamna carteri †Protolamna compressidens †Protolamna gigantea †Protolamna roanokeensis Family Lamnidae J. P. Müller and Henle, 1838 (mackerel sharks or white sharks) Genus Carcharodon A. Smith, 1838 Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758) (great white shark) †Carcharodon hubbelli Ehret, Macfadden, Jones, Devries, Foster & Salas-Gismondi, 2012 (Hubbell's white shark) †Carcharodon caifassii Lawley, 1876 †Carcharodon carcharias-f Linnaeus, 1758 Genus Isurus Rafinesque, 1810 Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810 (shortfin mako) Isurus paucus Guitart-Manday, 1966 (longfin mako) Genus Lamna Cuvier, 1816 Lamna ditropis Hubbs & Follett, 1947 (salmon shark) Lamna nasus (Bonnaterre, 1788) (porbeagle) Family †Otodontidae Gluckman, 1964 (extinct, Late Cretaceous to Pliocene) (megatoothed sharks) Genus †Cretalamna Gluckman, 1958 Genus †Otodus (Agassiz, 1843) †Otodus obliquus (Agassiz, 1838) †Otodus angustidens (Agassiz, 1843) †Otodus chubutensis (Agassiz, 1843) †Otodus megalodon (Agassiz, 1843) (megalodon) †Otodus auriculatus (Jordan, 1923) †Otodus sokolovi (Zhelezko and Kozlov, 1999) †Otodus poseidoni (Zhelezko and Kozlov, 1999) †Otodus minor (Giebel, 1943) †Otodus hastalis (Lawley, 1876) †Otodus limhamnensis (Davis, 1890) †Otodus debrayi (Leriche, 1906) †Otodus naidini (Zhelezko in Zhelezko & Kozlov) Genus †Megaselachus †Megaselachus subauriculatus? (Glickman, 1964) Genus †Megalolamna Shimada et al., 2016 Genus †Palaeocarcharodon Casieer, 1960 Genus †Kenolamna Siversson, 2017 Family Megachasmidae Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983 Genus Megachasma Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983 Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983 (megamouth shark) Family Mitsukurinidae D. S. Jordan, 1898 Genus Mitsukurina D. S. Jordan, 1898 Mitsukurina owstoni D. S. Jordan, 1898 (goblin shark) Family Odontaspididae Müller & Henle, 1839 Genus Odontaspis Agassiz, 1838 Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810) (smalltooth sand tiger) Odontaspis noronhai (Maul, 1955) (bigeye sand tiger) Family Pseudocarchariidae Compagno, 1973 Genus Pseudocarcharias Cadenat, 1963 Pseudocarcharias kamoharai (Matsubara, 1936) (crocodile shark) Family †Cardabiodontidae (extinct, Late Cretaceous period) Genus †Cardabiodon Siverson, 1999 †Cardabiodon ricki Siverson, 1999 †Cardabiodon venator Siverson and Lindgren, 2005 Genus †Dwardius Siverson, 1999 Genus †Parotodus? Cappetta, 1980 Family †Cretoxyrhinidae (extinct, Late Cretaceous period) Genus †Cretoxyrhina Agassiz, 1843 †Cretoxyrhina vraconensis Zhelezko, 2000 †Cretoxyrhina denticulata Glückman, 1957 †Cretoxyrhina agassizensis Underwood and Cumbaa, 2010 †Cretoxyrhina mantelli Agassiz, 1843 (ginsu shark) Family †Serratolamnidae Genus †Serratolamna Family †Ptychodontidae (extinct, Cretaceous period) Genus †Ptychodus (16+ species)