Cretalamna, meaning “chalk shark”, was a 10 foot long shark which lived from the middle Cretaceous Period to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period 105-46 million years ago.

Cretalamna was one of the first so-called “modern” sharks to appear. It belonged to the order Lamniformes (which includes the modern-day Great White, Mako, Porbeagle, and Sand Tiger), and to the lamniform family Otodontidae – the same family which includes Megalodon. At least 15 different species have been ascribed to the genus Cretalamna from the United States, Panama, England, France, Germany, Sweden, Morocco, Egypt, Mali, Niger, Lebanon, Jordan, and Australia.

While most prehistoric sharks are only known from teeth, numerous well-preserved body fossils of Cretalamna have been found as well. These show that it outwardly resembled a modern-day porbeagle or salmon shark. It was well-built for swimming at great speeds in open water, it was likely very active, and possibly even warm-blooded.

Cretalamna. © Jason R. Abdale (September 6, 2025).

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Categories: Paleontology, Uncategorized

Tags: Africa, art, Asia, Australia, Cretaceous Period, Cretalamna, Eocene Epoch, Europe, fish, Late Cretaceous, Mesozoic, Middle Cretaceous, North America, paleo-art, Paleogene Period, paleontology, Prehistoric, shark, Tertiary Period