Sharks of Beaumaris Bay

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Megalodon

Scientific name: Otodus megalodon(Carcharocles megalodon )(Agassiz,1843)

A reconstruction of the jaw of a Megalodon (Otodus megalodon), the largest shark that ever lived, and one of the World’s largest predators. It is estimated that it grew up to 17 metres long and weighed as much as 59 tonnes. It was once considered the ancestor of the living Great White, but is now placed in a different family. [Specimen in the National Aquarium Baltimore].

**Each tooth of *Otodus megalodon* has fine serrations along the edge. There would have been about 70 of these teeth in the jaw of Megalodon when it lived.**

**The specimen above was collected from the Beaumaris Sandstone, Bayside Melbourne**

Great White Shark/White Pointer

Scientific name: Carcharodon carcharius (Linnaeus, 1758)

**A tooth from a juvenile *Carcharodon carcharius*. Collected in Bayside Melbourne**.

The “Great White” grows up to 6 metres in length with females larger than males. *Carcharodon carcharius* feeds primarily on marine mammals such as seals and sea lions but also feeds on other sharks and rays and occasionally comes into contact with humans.

Carcharodon hastalis(Agassiz, 1843)

An ancestor to the Great White shark lived in temperate to tropical waters especially shallow waters to mid shelf locations.

Heterodontus portusjacksoni(Meyer 1793)

**Tooth Specimens Beaumaris Beaumaris Bay**

Inhabiting coastal waters in southern Australia, this is a migratory, bottom dwelling species feeding

on molluscs, crustaceans, sea urchins and fish.

Carcharias taurus(Rafinesque, 1810)

(Sand Tiger Shark, Grey Nurse Shark, Spotted ragged-tooth Shark)

(Photo Credit David Harasti) CSIROscope

Now an endangered species, these sharks grow to about 3.6 metres in length and have a low reproduction rate, They feed on smaller sharks, rays, squid and crustaceans. They tend to occupy shallow waters with sandy bottom gutters or rocky caves and close to inshore reefs.