Carcharias is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description Carcharias are 2.5 m long on average. The maximum weight of the shark is 158.8 kg. Differentiating species of sharks is usually done by locating and measuring their fins. The second dorsal fin and the anal fin of Carcharias are very large. In fact, they are about equal in size. The pectoral fins are triangular and only slightly larger than the dorsal fins. The teeth are very long and narrow with sharp points. The teeth are smooth with no ridges. The tail is one third of the entire body size. Diet Carcharias species hunt bony fish, small sharks, rays, squids, crabs, and lobsters. Habitat Sand tiger sharks live in water depths ranging from 0 to 190 meters. They are found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. They are commonly found in surf zones. Species With the Greek name 'Carcharias' literally translating to “shark”, many presently extant species have been placed into this genus before being moved to different genera and orders. Extant species Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810 (sand tiger shark) Species previously described in this genus Carcharias acutidens Rüppell, 1837 (accepted as Negaprion acutidens) Carcharias borneensis Seale, 1910 (accepted as Carcharhinus sealei) Carcharias brachyrhynchos Bleeker, 1859 (accepted as Carcharhinus amboinensis) Carcharias brevipinna Müller & Henle, 1839 (accepted as Carcharhinus brevipinna) Carcharias falciformis Müller & Henle, 1839 (accepted as Carcharhinus falciformis) Carcharias fronto Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 (accepted as Negaprion brevirostris) Carcharias hemiodon Müller & Henle, 1839 (accepted as Carcharhinus hemiodon) Carcharias sealei Pietschmann, 1913 (accepted as Carcharhinus sealei) Extinct species Extinct species within this genus lived from the Cretaceous period to the Quaternary period (from 99.7 to 0.012 Ma). Fossils have been found all over the world, especially in the Miocene and Oligocene sediments of Europe, the United States and Australia, in the Eocene of Egypt, Europe and the United States, as well as in the Cretaceous of Australia, Canada, the United States, Europe and Africa. Species from the fossil record include: Cretaceous species Carcharias tenuiplicatus Carcharias holmdelensis Maastrichtian Carcharias samhammeri Late Cretaceous Carcharias heathi Late Cretaceous Paleogene species Carcharias acutissima (Agassiz, 1844) - Late Eocene Carcharias atlasi Carcharias hopei (Agassiz, 1843) - Late Palaeocene - Eocene Carcharias koerti (Stromer, 1905) Carcharias robusta? (Leriche, 1921) -