Longfin Mako Shark - Taxonomy and Phylogeny

Taxonomy and Phylogeny

The original description of the longfin mako was published in 1966 by Cuban marine scientist Darío Guitart-Manday, in the scientific journal Poeyana, based on three adult specimens from the Caribbean Sea. An earlier synonym of this species may be Lamiostoma belyaevi, described by Glückman in 1964. However, the type specimen designated by Glückman consists of a set of fossil teeth that could not be confirmed as belonging to the longfin mako, and thus the name paucus took precedence over belyaevi despite being published later. The specific epithet paucus is Latin for "few", referring to the rarity of this species relative to the shortfin mako.

The sister species relationship between the longfin and shortfin makos has been confirmed by several phylogenetic studies based on mitochondrial DNA. In turn, the closest relative of the two mako sharks is the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). Fossil teeth belonging to the longfin mako have been recovered from the Muddy Creek Marl of the Grange Burn formation, south of Hamilton, Australia, and from Mizumani Group in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Both deposits date to the Middle Miocene epoch (15–11 Ma).