The first recognition of the enigmatic fossil shark genus Megalolamna (Lamniformes, Otodontidae) from the lower Miocene of Europe and M. serotinus (Probst, 1879) as the newly designated type species for the genus

Abstract

Megalolamna is an elusive extinct shark genus (Lamniformes: Otodontidae) previously known from the upper Oligocene–Miocene of the USA, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Japan. Here, we document the first occurrence of Megalolamna from Miocene marine deposits in Europe, specifically from Austria, France, Germany, and Italy. Although the taxon is regarded as a monospecific genus, this study reveals that the species name serotinus has the priority over any previously used names for the taxon and thus redescribes it as Megalolamna serotinus (Probst), comb. nov. This study is also significant because it demonstrates the existence of Megalolamna in the Mediterranean and Paratethys seas during the Miocene. Megalolamna inhabited the tropical–mid-latitudinal zones with spotty but wide geographic distribution.