The Pliocene locality Balgoy (province of Gelderland, The Netherlands) and a new record of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758)

The stratigraphy and geological context of the Balgoy locality (municipality of Wijchen, The Netherlands) is documented. In this subaqueous sandpit, fossiliferous Pliocene sands of the Oosterhout Formation are exposed, overlain by Quaternary sands and gravels. A tooth of the great white shark Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758) found in sediments extracted from the Balgoy site is described. It originates from the Oosterhout Formation (late Zanclean to early Piacenzian age, c. 3-4 Ma) and is the first record of fossil C. carcharias in stratigraphic context from the Netherlands. An overview of the fossil record of C. carcharias in the northeastern Atlantic is provided and the occurrence of great white sharks in the Pliocene of the southern North Sea Basin is discussed. Due to the warm temperate waters, the existence of a wide continental shelf with favourable water depths and the availability of prey, the Pliocene North Sea was apparently an attractive place to live for great white sharks.