Megachasma

In addition to the living M. pelagios, however, two extinct megamouth species – the Priabonian M. alisonae and the Oligocene–Miocene M. applegatei – have also recently been proposed on the basis of fossilized tooth remains. An early ancestor of the recent species Megachasma pelagios was reported from the early Miocene (Burdigalian) of Belgium. However, the Cretaceous-aged M. comanchensis has been recently reclassified as an odontaspid shark in the genus Pseudomegachasma, and is in fact unrelated to the megamouth shark despite similar teeth morphology.

They are a very rare genus of shark that are mainly found in temperate and tropical waters among the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The top sighting spots are Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines.