Squalodontids are odontocetes that lived during the early-middle Oligocene into the middle Miocene, about 33 to 14 million years ago. The genus Squalodon belongs to the order Odontoceti, the toothed whales (Kowinsky, J.). They are named after the shark Squalus because their cheek teeth look like the teeth of a squalus shark. The unique-looking squalodontids were likely distributed throughout the world in warm waters during the Oligocene and Miocene. Squalodontidae went extinct in the middle of the Miocene, leaving no descendants. Hypotheses of why this family lead to extinction have to deal with competition of other groups of dolphins as well as climate change (Fordyce, R.E).