Mackerel Sharks

The Lamniformes (/ˈlæmnɪfɔːrmiːz/, 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,^[1] as well as more unusual representatives, 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 water.^[2]

The oldest member of the group is Palaeocarcharias, known from the Middle and Late Jurassic, which shares the distinctive tooth histology of lamniform sharks, which lack orthodentine.^[3]

Species

The order Lamniformes includes 10 families with 22 species, with a total of seven living families and 17 living species:

Order Lamniformes

• Family Alopiidae Bonaparte, 1838 (thresher sharks)
  • Genus Alopias Rafinesque, 1810
    • Alopias pelagicus Nakamura, 1935 (pelagic thresher) [1]
    • Alopias superciliosus R. T. Lowe, 1841 (bigeye thresher) [2]
    • Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788) (common thresher) [3]
    • Alopias sp. not yet described
• Family †Anacoracidae Capetta, 1987 (extinct, Cretaceous period)
  • Genus †Squalicorax (crow sharks)
  • Genus †Telodontaspis
  • Genus †Pseudocorax
  • Genus †Galeocorax
  • 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 (eagle shark)
• Family Cetorhinidae Gill, 1862
  • Genus Cetorhinus Blainville, 1816
    • Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765) (basking shark) [4]
    • †Cetorhinus huddlestoni (Welton, 2014)
    • †Cetorhinus piersoni (Welton, 2015)
  • Genus †Keasius (Welton, 2013)
• Family Eoptolamnidae^[4] (extinct, Late Cretaceous period)
  • Genus †Eoptolamna^[4]
    • †Eoptolamna eccentrolopha
  • Genus †Leptostyrax^[5][6]
    • †Leptostyrax macrorhiza
  • Genus †Protolamna^[4]
    • †Protolamna sokolovi
    • †Protolamna borodini
    • †Protolamna carteri
    • †Protolamna compressidens
    • †Protolamna gigantea
    • †Protolamna roanokeensis
• Family Lamnidae J. P. Müller and Henle, 1838
  • Genus Carcharodon A. Smith, 1838
    • Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758) (great white shark) [5]
    • †Carcharodon hubbelli
  • Genus Isurus Rafinesque, 1810
    • Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810 (shortfin mako) [6]
    • Isurus paucus Guitart-Manday, 1966 (longfin mako) [7]
  • Genus Lamna Cuvier, 1816
    • Lamna ditropis Hubbs & Follett, 1947 (salmon shark) [8]
    • Lamna nasus (Bonnaterre, 1788) (porbeagle) [9]
• Family Megachasmidae Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983
  • Genus Megachasma Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983
    • Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983 (megamouth shark) [10]
• Family Mitsukurinidae D. S. Jordan, 1898
  • Genus Mitsukurina D. S. Jordan, 1898
    • Mitsukurina owstoni D. S. Jordan, 1898 (goblin shark) [11]
• Family Odontaspididae Müller & Henle, 1839
  • Genus Carcharias Rafinesque, 1810
    • Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810 (sand tiger shark) [12]
  • Genus Odontaspis Agassiz, 1838
    • Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810) (smalltooth sand tiger) [13]
    • Odontaspis noronhai (Maul, 1955) (bigeye sand tiger) [14]
• Family Pseudocarchariidae Compagno, 1973
  • Genus Pseudocarcharias Cadenat, 1963
    • Pseudocarcharias kamoharai (Matsubara, 1936) (crocodile shark) [15]
• Family †Cardabiodontidae (extinct, Late Cretaceous period)
  • Genus †Cardabiodon Siverson, 1999
    • †Cardabiodon ricki Siverson, 1999
    • †Cardabiodon venator Siverson and Lindgren, 2005
• 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 †Otodontidae (extinct, Late Cretaceous to Pliocene)
  • Genus †Carcharocles
    • †Carcharocles auriculatus (Jordan, 1923)
    • †Carcharocles angustidens (Agassiz, 1843)
    • †Carcharocles chubutensis (Agassiz, 1843)
    • †Carcharocles megalodon (Agassiz, 1843) (megalodon) † (genus disputed)
  • Genus †Cretalamna
  • Genus †Otodus

Sustainable consumption

In 2010, Greenpeace International added the shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) to its seafood red list. ^[18]

References