Shark Evolution Timeline

Sulurian Era

The Silurian Era: The First Sharks - Over 450 million years ago the Acanthodian which was also known as a “spiny shark”, was the very first ancestor of the modern shark. It was also the first ever fish to develop a cartilaginous skeletal structure which is what truly defines a shark.

Early Devonian Era

Shark Evolution Begins - About 50 million years after the Silurian Era, the first fully developed sharks, also known as Leonodus, started to evolve into the oceans. Although little is known about these creatures, scientists have discovered the fossil remains of its 2 main teeth which lead them to believe that this shark was about 16 inches long with an eel-like body and a habitation in freshwater.

Late Devonian Era

The First Modern Shark - Towards the end of the Devonian Era, the first ever shark to be closely related to the sharks of the present came into the world and was known as the Cladoselache. It had many similarities with the sharks of today including its body, fins, and gills. However, the one main difference was that this shark had a rounder head and teeth that were not flexible because they were fixed to its head.

The Cretaceous Period: The Sharks of Today

About 145 to 65 million years ago was when the first modern shark species, more specifically the sharks that are still alive today, started to appear with examples such as the Whale and Goblin sharks first being noticeable during this era.

Goblin Shark

The Early Cenozoic Era: The Era of The MEG

It was during this period, about 60 million years ago, that the most notable prehistoric shark to ever live, known as the Megalodon, ruled the seas. This creature was the largest ocean predator to ever exist, reaching 65 feet in length, having a weight of over 30 tons, and containing 7 inch long jaws with an appetite for animals as large as whales.

Megladon Shark

The Common Era: Sharks in the Present

Nearly all the sharks of today, around 440 species currently, first existed in the Cenozoic Era with the few exceptions of those who haven’t evolved since the Cretaceous Period and the ones who were introduced in later times, most notably the Hammerhead shark species who, at only about 20 million years old, is the youngest shark species that currently exists.

Great White Shark

The Future: Uncertainty

Sharks have been on the planet for 450 million years, although they survived all 5 mass extinctions, all 440 species are in constant threat from humans. 100 million sharks are killed a year from human behavior including hunting, pollution, and shark finning. If we don't stop this massacre, sharks will die off by 2033, we'll never understand the prehistoric sharks.

Future Shark