The Mediterranean sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus europaeus), was a population of sand tiger shark that inhabited the Mediterranean Sea.

Over a period of 200 years, 31 occurrence records and 54 publications provided information on the presence of the species in the area.

The genetics of the already endangered species as a whole are poorly studied, however during a recent effort results suggested a genetic relationship between Mediterranean sand tiger sharks and those from the Western Indian Ocean (Carcharias taurus tricuspidatus).

It is hypothesized that during the Pleistocene the cold Benguela upwelling barrier was temporarily reduced allowing the passage of C. taurus individuals from the Indian to Atlantic Ocean.

[3] Some individuals were trapped in the Atlantic Ocean and probably migrated northward colonizing the Western African coasts and the Mediterranean Sea.