The genus is well-known from strata deposited in the Western Interior Seaway (North America),[1][2][3] and from the Late Cretaceous of Europe,[4] Africa, and possibly Asia.

[4] The morphology of Cretodus' placoid scales and vertebral centra suggest a moderate swimming speed, less than that of the fast-cruising contemporaneous macropredatory shark, Cretoxyrhina.

[1] Amalfitano et al. (2022) reported an estimated total length of 6.6–7.8 m (22–26 ft) for a nearly complete specimen of C. crassidens from Italy which probably died at 23 years of age; they also fitted a van Bertalanffy growth model based on the growth record of this specimen, estimating the parameter of theoretical maximum total length (L∞) for C. crassidens at 9.55–11.28 m (31.3–37.0 ft).

[4] Cretodus teeth have lateral cusplets that are much smaller than the main cusp and well-separated from it, but connected by enamel on the labial face.

The enamel surface is smooth, except near the base of the crown, where it forms vertical striae or costulae (grooves and ridges), a feature more prominent on the lingual face.