Carcharocles megalodon
Data Archive 20
Scope

This is a Paleobiology Database Data Archive that comprises a comprehensive list of all the occurrences of Charcharocles megalodon.

Scientific goals

The main purpose of this data archive is to reconstruct the entire fossil record of Megalodon in order to estimate its most likely date of extinction, its first appearance, and identify distribution and body size patterns. This is part of a larger project where we aim to better understand the extinction of this gigantic top predator.

History

Entry of these data began in 2013 and is an ongoing process

Publications
  • C. Pimiento, D. J. Ehret, B. J. MacFadden, and G. Hubbell. 2010. Ancient nursery area for the extinct giant shark Megalodon from the Miocene of Panama. PLoS One 5(5):e10522.
  • C. Pimiento and C. F. Clements. 2014. When did Carcharocles megalodon become extinct? A new analysis of the fossil record. PLoS One 9:e111086. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111086
  • C. Pimiento and Balk, M. 2015. Body size trends of the extinct giant shark Carcharocles megalodon: A deep-time perspective on marine apex predators. Paleobiology 41:479-490. DOI: 10.1017/pab.2015.16
  • C. Pimiento, MacFadden, B., Clements, C.F., Varela S., Jaramillo, C., Velez-Juarbe, J., Silliman, B. 2016. Geographic distribution patterns of Carcharocles megalodon over time reveal clues about mechanisms of extinction. Journal of Biogeography. DOI: 10.1111/jbi.12754
Contact information

Catalina Pimiento
University of Florida
Department of Biology
Gainesville, FL 32611
Email: pimientoc@ufl.edu

Download the Carcharocles megalodon taxonomic data