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The great white shark is related to four other 'Mackerel'
sharks in the family Lamnidae (Makos,
porbeagles and salmon sharks).
This species was originally described by Linnaeus (1758) as
Squalus carcharias, with a type locality given as 'European
Seas', essentially the Mediterranean.
Considerable confusion between Linnaeus' S. carcharias and
various Mediterranean carcharhinids (requiem sharks), and
especially the sandbar shark
Carcharhinus plumbeus, gave rise to some
misrepresentative species accounts by European writers until
the 1900's.
Andrew Smith's nomination (in Müller & Henle, 1838) of
Carcharodon for the white shark genus largely eradicated
future confusion in nomenclature.
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