Taxonomy and Evolution of The white shark was not always known as Carcharodon carcharias

The white shark was not always known as Carcharodon carcharias. Since 1758, when it was named Squalus carcharias, this species has been afforded a variety of scientific names, including Carcharias lamnia Rafinesque 1810,Carcharias verus Cloquet 1817, Carcharodon smithii Bonaparte 1838, Carcharodon rondeletii Müller & Henle 1839,Carcharias atwoodi Storer 1848, Carcharias maso Morris 1898, and Carcharodon albimors Whitley 1939. The genus name Carcharodon is derived from the Greek "karcharos" = sharpen and "odous" = teeth. The species name carcharias, also translated from Greek, means point or type of shark, leading to its common name in Australia of the white pointer.

Cladograms of proposed generic relationships in the family Lamnidae, adapted from Klimley & Ainley (1996)

The relationships between the white shark and the other genera of its family are controversial. Two phyletic arrangements have been proposed. One suggests it is more closely related to the mako sharks (genusIsurus) (figure A), while the other proposes it remains closer to the porbeagle and salmon sharks (genus Lamna) (figure B). Recent studies indicate that the first hypothesis is best supported but does not refute the second one.

Studies indicate that the white shark and the other genera of its family may have originated in the Paleocene or early Eocene. Fossil registers indicate that, in the late Cretaceous and Paleocene, the lamnid sharks (sharks from the family Lamnidae) were abundant and diverse. The evolution of the white shark also presents various theories. One proposes that it evolved from the megatoothed line of sharks, and another suggests that it evolved from a Miocene mako shark.