Galeocerdo

Galeocerdo Temporal range:
Galeocerdo cuvier
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Subdivision:	Selachimorpha
Order:	Carcharhiniformes
Family:	Galeocerdonidae
Genus:	Galeocerdo J. P. Müller & Henle, 1837
Type species
Galeocerdo cuvier
Species
See text

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 (including the Eocene †G. clarkensis and †G. eaglesomei, Oligocene-late Miocene †G. aduncus, Miocene †G. mayumbensis, and Pliocene †G. capellinii) much lower than previously assumed. The oldest fossils of the extant G. cuvier date to the middle Miocene.

Species

Species historically considered valid in the genus Galeocerdo include:

• †Galeocerdo aduncus
• †Galeocerdo alabamensis
• †Galeocerdo clarkensis
• Galeocerdo cuvier
• †Galeocerdo denticulatus
• †Galeocerdo eaglesomi
• †Galeocerdo gibberulus
• †Galeocerdo latidens
• †Galeocerdo mayumbensis
• †Galeocerdo minor
• †Galeocerdo mixtus
• †Galeocerdo productus