Could a megalodon survive? Megalodon – Carcharodon megalodon – Fish – Dinosaurs. How many teeth did megalodon have?

How big was Megalodon and how much did it weigh?

Megalodon ( Carcharocles megalodon"big tooth") is the largest predatory shark in the history of the Earth. They have tried to estimate the size of prehistoric fish more than once. In 1909, when the megalodon's jaw was first reconstructed, scientists estimated the shark's body length to be 30 meters. Today's advances in vertebrate biology and new discoveries of megalodon remains have reduced the estimated size by half. Using different methods of studying the teeth of a predator, we obtain a body length from 13 to 18 meters. Only in 2015, after studying a large sample of teeth, was it obtained average length 10 meters, and the maximum is 15 meters. By comparison, a great white shark can theoretically reach seven meters in length. The size of megalodon is close to the largest marine reptiles of the Mesozoic, such as mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs.

Why are shark teeth used when estimating size, rather than parts of its skeleton? Because sharks are cartilaginous fish. That is, their skeleton consists not of bones, but of cartilage. Cartilage is poorly preserved. They decompose before they turn to stone. So we have almost no remains of megalodon, except for teeth.

For a long time, the mass of megalodon remained a subject of debate. It is difficult to draw conclusions about mass based only on the teeth of an animal. The lack of remains of the giant predator has prevented accurate estimates. If we reconstruct the megalodon based on the build of a white shark, we will get a body mass of 41 to 47 tons. But we can compare the dimensions of megalodon and whale shark to draw conclusions about the mass of extinct fish. This method reduces the weight to 30 tons. All the same, with such a mass, the predator must have consumed a colossal amount of food, more than a ton per day. While studying the fossils of whales, the same age as the megalodon, it became clear where the shark got so much food from. Many skeletal remains of large marine mammals had characteristic lesions consistent with the profile and size of megalodon teeth.

How big were megalodon teeth and what was the size of the largest specimen found?

Giant shark teeth are found all over the world. Their average size varies from 10 to 13 cm. These sizes are already impressive, since the teeth of a great white shark are only 7 cm long. However, several megalodon teeth have been found that are more than 17 cm long. The largest megalodon tooth found was as much as 19 cm.

In 1843, when the megalodon was first described, it was placed in the genus Carcharadon, which includes the great white shark. Two huge sharks, with large jagged teeth - they are probably related. But time passed, science developed, and the fossil record was filled in. Today, shark taxonomy looks different than it did a century and a half ago. The evolutionary paths of the white shark and megalodon diverged more than 60 million years ago.

Megalodon is believed to have the most powerful bite in the history of fish. Its giant jaws could clamp down on a victim with a monstrous force of 109 kN. This is three times stronger than the current record holder - the saltwater crocodile. In terms of bite force, megalodon is inferior to Tyrannosaurus (more than 200 kN) and Deinosuchus (more than 350 kN).

How many teeth did megalodon have?

Do not forget that the megalodon's jaw was lined with a huge number of sharp teeth. Predators like sharks tend to have a large number of teeth. The old ones break down and wear out, while new ones are on the way. The giant's two-meter jaw had more than 270 teeth arranged in five rows. Triangular serrations on them, the same as those of a white shark, indicate a similar feeding pattern. Megalodon did not swallow its prey, just as the great white shark does not. Sharp and strong teeth more than 10 cm long literally sawed off huge pieces of flesh from unlucky victims.

Of course, when talking about megalodon, one cannot ignore its teeth as valuable specimens for collectors. The fact is that sharks' teeth fall out regularly and are well preserved. Today, megalodon has been well studied, and there is no end to the findings. Small teeth cost little and can be interesting and an unusual gift. But samples from 16 centimeters are already very expensive and can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

But size is not the only factor that determines cost. It is also affected by preservation and color. How larger size, the more difficult it is to find a well-preserved example. The most expensive teeth are considered to be large, impeccably preserved teeth, which are usually classified as “museum quality.”

Causes of extinction

The warm ocean and the enormous abundance of food made the megalodon a very successful predator. Remains of the ancient shark have been found in North and South America, Europe, Africa, as well as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, the Canary Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malta, the Grenadines and India. But what led the megalodon to success was also its death: 2.6 million years ago, the planet’s climate began to change dramatically, the oceans cooled. The large fauna was dying out, and the giant predator simply had nothing to eat. The influence of other top predators, such as killer whales, cannot be ruled out. Today, a white shark weighing 1-2 tons is breakfast for young killer whales. But, most likely, megalodon became extinct due to a complex of reasons that unfortunately fell on its head.

It finally became extinct more than a million years ago. The name of the species was given by their huge, amazing jaws with five rows of sharp teeth. It's hard to believe that Megalodon was once the terror of the oceans, and its huge saw teeth gave it an advantage over all marine fauna.

Prehistoric carnivorous sharks ate not only whales - they did not disdain manatees, dolphins, sperm whales and seals, and in their youth, most mega-fry hunted exclusively for large and very large fish.

When did the prehistoric shark live?

The superpredator megalodon shark is considered the closest relative of the more modern predator - the great white shark. Some scientists, however, are skeptical about such a relationship and insist on the common roots of megalodon and now extinct representatives of the family Otodontidae.

The prehistoric megalodon shark successfully hunted the same huge “game” - sperm whales and whales of the Pleistocene era. The existence of the giant monster is still shrouded in mystery. Details life cycle megalodons are also unknown for certain, since bones and teeth of young individuals are almost never found among the fossilized remains of the sea giant. Scientists have never encountered a shark larger than a megalodon or its fossil remains.

The above facts are indisputable at present, but everything can change after the next excavations, sensational finds and published scientific works.

How did the ancient shark become extinct?

About 1.5-2 million years ago, a chain of irreversible climate changes began, as a result of which many species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles disappeared.

Surprisingly, the largest and most powerful predator of that period - the giant megalodon shark - was unable to adapt to variability environment.

Megalodons lived the longest in warmer environments at that time. southern hemisphere planets. Scientists associate the extinction of the species with the appearance of huge glaciers - because of this, not only did the directions of currents change, but also the warm seas on the shelves practically disappeared. In such reservoirs the megalodon shark preferred to hunt its prey. Sperm whales and whales, which were the main “game” for sharks, were able to adapt, successfully “migrating” to distant and cold waters rich in plankton, and therefore have survived to this day.

Ancient sharks (megalodon) could have gone extinct for a more prosaic reason. Relatively small predators - killer whales, which appeared in the Pliocene era, successfully and en masse exterminated the young giants. To grow to the size of an adult, megalodon fry needed years and decades. Killer whales have disrupted the status quo by eating virtually defenseless juvenile sharks.

The giant predators were unable to cope with the more agile and cunning killer whales and were unable to protect their species, like many other prehistoric giants.

What did the ancient shark look like?

What does a megalodon shark look like? Huge and very, very impressive. Megalodons differed more from their great white “cousin” flat shape heads. The flat muzzle and closely spaced eyes most likely made prehistoric sharks unpleasant and frightening - the “pig snout” of a carcass weighing several tens of tons can scare anyone. The unusual structure of the skeleton was necessary so that predators could hunt huge waterfowl mammals with strong bones and equally hard skin without injury.

The size and shape of the ancient superpredator amazes the imagination of modern people. Many scientists at first did not believe in the existence of such giants. The skeletal anatomy, size of the mouth, structure of the teeth and overall weight of the megalodon make it an outstanding creation of nature.

More than 40 tons of weight and 16 m of length are not the limit; experts do not doubt the existence of remains bigger size. Photographs of eighteen-centimeter teeth that have flown around the world have made it possible to compare megalodons with killer whales, sperm whales and whales. Later research proved that megalodon was much, much larger than any modern ocean inhabitant.

How and who did the largest shark, the megalodon, hunt?

Studies of vertebrae, skeletons and jaws even made it possible to draw conclusions about the method of hunting. Most likely, in a duel “megalodon versus white shark,” the first predator will simply swallow the second and not even notice. For example, megalodons hunted ancient cetaceans and sperm whales in the following way: if the prey was relatively small, then with one swift attack, the bite of giant teeth, the monster literally tore out huge pieces of flesh and broke bones, as a result of which the “game” died from terrible injuries and internal bleeding .

Large whales that appeared in the Pliocene era required new tactics and strategies. The megalodon shark was able to adapt to larger fish - predators of such cetaceans simply tore off swimming limbs with their huge jaws with five rows of teeth. Bleeding and immobilized prey became dinner for the predator.

The most big shark- megalodon - left people many reminders of itself on the fossil bones of Pliocene cetaceans.

Megalodon in modern times

In the mid-50s. 20th century The ship "Rachel Cohen" arrived at the docks of a major international port - Adelaide. The ship needed a major overhaul, which promised to be lengthy and very difficult.

Cleaning is a common procedure before repair; All plating located below the waterline - the sides and bottom (underwater parts of the ship's hull) - must be cleaned.

The result of the cleanup was the discovery of unknown fossil artifacts, which scientists later recognized as the teeth of the largest and most formidable predator - the megalodon. The huge 17 fossils presented specialists with many surprises, the first of which was their approximate age.

However, respectable professors did not pay attention to the find, but cryptozoologists and ufologists of all stripes began to intensively search for the fish, and the newspapers of that time were full of headlines “Megalodon shark is alive!”

Does Megalodon Exist Now?

Thoughts about the existence of giant sharks in the depths of the ocean in the 20th century did not leave the inquisitive minds of scientists and the “experts in the unknown” who joined them. Some ichthyologists and paleontologists began to dig in all directions, thanks to which from the 60s. Many fossilized teeth and vertebrae of megalodons were found, as well as imprints of their terrible jaws on the bones of whales.

Whether the discovery of teeth in Adelaide was a hoax is not known for certain. Man still knows very little about the World Ocean, and modern technology will not allow reaching some of its corners very soon.

Megalodon - a monster shark - may well lurk in the depths and suddenly appear in the face of stunned humanity, like a jack-in-the-box.

Where is Megalodon hiding?

A huge colossus weighing 47 tons is unlikely to be able to “sneak” past modern radars and other technological devices - scientists console ordinary people.

But stubborn facts - finds and encounters - indicate that the megalodon monster shark is alive and well, it’s just that humans have not yet reached its habitat.

Among the possible places often mentioned Mariana Trench, because no one knows what is really happening there. Today, only a few cryptozoologists remain faithful supporters of theories about the existence of an entire population of prehistoric predators. However, the latter, as they should be, have not yet been able to prove anything.

The mysterious megalodon is sometimes encountered on the route of research and fishing vessels, but from unclear photographs and video recordings it is impossible to say for sure what kind of sea giant rushed past the frightened people.

Megalodon and man

Photographs of the skeletons and jaws of huge sea predators suggest that humanity arose for a reason after these cute fish finally disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Humans and megalodons have most likely never seen each other face to face. It is unknown how a prehistoric predator at the very top of the food chain would have reacted to its direct competitor in the ocean.

The closest known relatives of megalodons - great white sharks - do not disdain human flesh at all, although their attacks cannot be called systematic. Ichthyologists still do not know what makes sharks attack - an innate bad character, poor eyesight, gastronomic preferences, or completely other reasons unknown to us.

For prehistoric megalodons (at least adults), humans are small prey, unworthy of attention. But with the cubs of ancient predators, not everything is so smooth. According to research results, the latter, at certain periods of their adolescence, ate fish and small marine mammals. In terms of size and weight, a person can easily be mistaken for a seal or the baby of another animal, which means there is likely gastronomic interest on the part of the young of ancient giant sharks.

Last encounter with megalodon

Famous 20th century ichthyologist David Stead once wrote a book based on his many years of observations of marine life. The rather controversial facts that he cited in his work formed the basis of many modern theories about the existence of extinct species.

In particular, it was Stead’s books that prompted many scientists and pseudoscientists of our time to think about the possible existence of megalodon side by side with humans.
The meeting with the unknown, according to D. Stead, took place in 1918. There was no constructive dialogue between the fishermen and the prehistoric giant, and they separated like ships at sea.

Upon arriving at the scene, Stead heard a horror story about a horror from the deep that sailed past and left the lobstermen silent and gray. The meeting took place near Bruton, when the fishermen went fishing - checking traps and collecting caught prey.

Following a set and practiced routine, the divers plunged into the sea to inspect the nets and attach full traps to the boats.

Suddenly, the people remaining on the deck noticed a huge shadow under the water, and a few seconds later the scuba divers literally jumped out of the water with wild screams.

Divers described in great detail a giant monster with a pig's snout, which non-stop devoured prey along with nets and iron cages. Thick ropes and even an anchor chain could not stop the creature - the ash-white giant, dozens of times larger than any shark they had seen, easily cut through the chains.

According to the testimony of frightened but living eyewitnesses, the size of the creature in the water was about 30-35 meters; the huge head of the creature, larger than the average boathouse, especially struck the imagination of the fishermen.

Like a true scientist, David Stead did not immediately believe the fable, mistaking the story for good old fishing tales. But after much thought, the ichthyologist came to the conclusion that such an invention requires not only imagination and a lot of free time, but also good knowledge of paleontology. Ordinary fishermen hardly knew about latest news from paleontological excavations, and ancient fossils are probably the last thing lobster fishermen are interested in.

Since Stead did publish this adventure in his work, there is still no need to rush to dismiss the possibility of the existence of a prehistoric superpredator in the 20th century.

Prehistoric megalodon shark and relatively “fresh” fossils

Based on the results of numerous examinations, studies, experiments and analyses, conclusions and headlines like “There is a monster shark! Megalodon is alive and found! - complete nonsense.

However, frightening discoveries that are found around the world indicate the possibility that a small error has crept into the calculations of the outstanding minds of mankind.

The teeth, found in the Tahiti region and the Baltic, belonged to individuals that lived only 11,000 years ago. The declared period of extinction of megalodons is 1.5-2 million years ago. The relatively young age of the remains may indicate the mysteries that the ocean still hides.

Does the megalodon shark exist somewhere in the deep? It's very possible. Sperm whales and whales are equipped by nature for safe and systematic diving enormous depth. Perhaps the ancient megalodon had similar “devices” that helped it hunt large fish.

White shark and megalodon: main differences

The white shark and megalodon differ not only in size and shape. The main difference between the second is considered to be a much stronger structure of the skeleton and jaws and a powerful backbone. According to the results of recent studies, megalodons had almost the greatest bite force - tens of times more than that of a modern white shark. Zoologist Stephen Uro compared the bite power of megalodon with that of other superpredators - tyrannosaurs and deinosuchus.

Such significant differences in the anatomy of two similar “relatives” are easily explained - different conditions existence, methods of hunting and its main objects.

The relationship between sharks and megalodons has not been proven, and there are no answers to other questions about the habitat of the prehistoric predator and the causes of extinction.

What Megalodon and its distant ancestors looked like, what it ate, and where they lived are complex questions; unambiguous answers to them can only be obtained by finding facts that confirm or refute modern theories. Scientists continue to argue about megalodons, and archaeological sites continue to contain ambiguous, controversial, or even counterintuitive evidence.

Megalodon is the largest shark to ever live on Earth, as well as the largest marine predator in the history of the planet, significantly larger in size than modern white sharks and ancient marine reptiles such as Liopleurodon and Kronosaurus. This article presents the most Interesting Facts about megalodon, which can capture any imagination.

1. Megalodon could grow up to 18 m in length

Due to the paucity of megalodon bones found, its exact size has been a matter of debate for a long time. Based on tooth size and analogies with modern white sharks, the estimated body length of megalodon has varied over the last century from 12 to 30 m, but according to recent estimates, paleontologists have reached a consensus that adults were about 16-18 m long and weighed 50-75 T.

2. Megalodon loved to snack on whales

Megalodon's diet lived up to its reputation as a super predator. Throughout the Pliocene and Miocene eras, these giant sharks' diet included prehistoric whales, dolphins, squid, fish, and even giant turtles (whose tough shells couldn't withstand a 10-ton bite). Perhaps the megalodon even crossed paths with the giant prehistoric whale Melville's leviathan, which was not inferior in size.

3. Megalodon had the strongest bite in the entire history of the Earth

In 2008, a joint research team from Australia and the United States used computer modeling to calculate the bite power of a megalodon. The results obtained can only be described as incredible: while a modern white shark clenches its jaws with a force of about 1.8 tons, megalodon victims experienced jaws with a force of 10.8-18.2 tons (enough to crush the skull of a prehistoric whale so as light as grapes, and much stronger than the bite of the well-known Tyrannosaurus Rex).

4. Megalodon teeth had an oblique length of up to 19 cm

It’s not for nothing that megalodon means “big tooth” in Latin. These prehistoric sharks had simply gigantic teeth that reached up to 19 cm in diagonal length (for comparison, the teeth of a great white shark have a slanted length of about 5 cm).

5. Megalodon cut off its fin before killing its prey

At least one computer simulation has confirmed that megalodon's hunting style was different from modern white sharks. While the white shark attacks the soft tissue of its prey (such as the underbelly or legs of a diver), megalodon's teeth were ideal for biting through tough cartilage. There is also some evidence that before killing their prey, they first cut off its fins, making it impossible for them to swim away.

6. A possible modern descendant of megalodon is the white shark

The classification of megalodon causes a lot of debate and different points of view. Some scientists claim that the closest modern relative of the ancient giant is the white shark, which has a similar body structure and some habits. However, not all paleontologists agree with this classification, arguing that megalodon and the great white shark acquired striking similarities as a result of the process of convergent evolution (the tendency of dissimilar organisms to adopt similar body shapes and behaviors when developing under similar conditions. A good example convergent evolution is the similarity of ancient sauropod dinosaurs with modern giraffes).

7. Megalodon was significantly larger than the largest marine reptiles

The aquatic environment allows apex predators to grow to enormous sizes, but none was more massive than the megalodon. Some giant marine reptiles of the Mesozoic era, such as Liopleurodon and Kronosaurus, weighed about 30-40 tons, and the maximum of a modern white shark is about 3 tons. The only marine animal that surpasses the 50-75-ton megalodon is the planktivorous blue whale, whose mass can reach an incredible 200 tons.

8. Megalodon's teeth were once thought to be stones

Thousands of sharks' teeth constantly fall out throughout their lives, being replaced by new ones. Given the megalodon's global distribution (see next point), its teeth were discovered throughout the world centuries ago. But it wasn't until the 17th century that a European doctor named Nicholas Steno identified the strange stones as shark teeth. For this reason, some historians credit Steno with the title of the world's first paleontologist!

9. Megalodon Was Distributed Around the World

Unlike some sharks and marine reptiles of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras, whose habitats were limited to the coastlines or inland rivers and lakes of some continents, megalodon had a truly global distribution, terrorizing whales in the warm waters of oceans around the world. Apparently the only thing that kept adult megalodons from approaching the shoreline was their gigantic size, rendering them as helpless in shallow water as 16th-century Spanish galleons.

10. Nobody knows the reason for the extinction of megalodon

Megalodon was the largest, ruthless apex predator of the Pliocene and Miocene eras. Something went wrong? Perhaps these giant sharks were doomed by global cooling as a result of the last ice age, or the gradual disappearance of the giant whales that make up the bulk of their diet. By the way, some people believe that Megalodon is still lurking in the depths of the oceans, but there is absolutely no authoritative evidence to support this theory.

Existing approximately 23 million to 2.6 million years ago, the megalodon shark (aka Carcharocles megalodon, aka Meg) was one of the largest and most powerful predators that ever lived. This gigantic beast roamed the oceans, devouring everything in its path - it was the perfect killing machine.

Thanks to Meg's fossil record, we now know more about this ocean nightmare than ever before. Although the facts are surprising, they are not consoling. Megalodon was a shark that came out of a monster movie.

10. Latest observations

Earth has five large oceans, covering 71 percent of the surface, containing more than 1.3 billion cubic kilometers of water. With this in mind, it is not surprising that we have mapped less than ten percent of the world's oceans using modern technologies sonar. We truly may not know what lies beneath the surface of the water.

In 1928 and 1933, sightings of a “huge” shark over 12 meters long were reported off the coast of Rangiora, New Zealand (by the same people both times). Specifically, in 1918, Australian naturalist David G. Stead spoke with men who were fishing near Broughten Island, New South Wales. They said a shark the size of a blue whale surfaced and swallowed all their crayfish pots, which were about 1 meter in diameter. The men said that as the shark swam by, the water "boiled over a large area" and they were too scared to get back into the water. Despite these recent sightings, experts still believe that Meg went extinct 2.6 million years ago.

9. Powerful predator

Photo: Rose Briccetti/Pinterest

The average megalodon weighed between 50 and 70 tons and measured approximately 11 to 13 meters in length, but the largest specimens may have weighed up to 100 tons and reached up to 20 meters in length. In any case, megalodon was one of the most powerful aquatic predators. If you imagine razor-sharp ones attached to a beast the size of a double-decker bus, that's exactly what we're talking about here. Kronosaurus and Liopleurodon from Mesozoic era were large, but not even close to that size, they weighed a maximum of 40 tons.

Meg's method of killing was brutal: unlike other sharks, which cling to the soft tissue of their prey, such as the underbelly or fins, Megalodon could bite through bones. One whale fossil discovered by scientists showed compression fractures underneath, caused by the megaladon slamming its head into the whale's soft belly, stunning the prey before it was eaten. Scientists also believe that megalodons moved in groups, which increased their power.

8. Named "Big Tooth"

The name "megalodon" translates as "big tooth", and it is quite justified. Tooth lengths range from 7 to 18 centimeters, and tooth hunters are always looking to find even longer teeth for their collections. However, the 18-centimetre-long tooth is rare and only a few have been discovered, bringing its price to tens of thousands of dollars. The 8cm teeth of a great white shark would be Meg's baby teeth.

This ocean monster could quickly lose its teeth, shedding 20,000 teeth in its lifetime, often leaving them behind in its prey. Fortunately, they had five rows of teeth, so there was always something to replace the ones that fell out. Most of the megalodon teeth that are sold on the Internet fell out because the shark was constantly hunting for food; this giant was always hungry.

7. Feast of humpback whales

If you are a huge monster, then you have a huge appetite. The size of Meg's jaws when open was 3.4 meters by 2.7 meters. They fed on prey of a wide range of sizes, from small animals including dolphins, sharks and sea ​​turtles, up to large humpback whales. Because of their powerful jaws, which had a bite force ranging from 110,000 to 180,000 Newtons, Meg could seriously damage a whale's skull.

Imprints of Meg's teeth have been found on fossilized whale bones, showing how eating habits they had millions of years ago. Some bones even contained the tips of teeth, which were probably broken off during the mad feast. Today, great white sharks still attack humpback whales, but they tend to prey more on calves, adult sick whales, or those that can be easily killed.

6. They weren't rare

Photo: Mary Parrish, Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History

At their peak, megalodons could be found in oceans around the world. Preserved fossils belonging to these monsters have been found in Northern and South America, Europe, Africa, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, Canary Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malta, Grenadines and India. If the area was underwater in the past and there was food there, you can bet Meg lived there.

Their lifespan was also long - from 20 to 40 years, but the healthiest and best-nourished megalodons lived even longer. Another advantage was that they were homeothermic animals, that is, they were able to maintain a stable internal temperature bodies regardless of the environment, therefore they could in all oceans without limitation. While it's unlikely we'll ever encounter a megalodon again, let's not forget that the Yeti crab was only discovered in 2005 when researchers descended in a submarine to a depth of 2,200 meters where they were able to discover these creatures living in hydrothermal vents. Never say never.

5. They swam in shallow water

It's hard to believe that a beast the size of Meg could be found anywhere but the deepest parts of the ocean. However, recent findings prove that they swam close to shore to give birth, as these predators preferred to do so in shallow, warm waters close to the coast.

Researchers from the University of Florida have confirmed that they have discovered fossils from a ten-million-year-old megalodon nursery in Panama. Here, in shallow water, more than 400 fossilized teeth belonging to megalodon babies were discovered. Other "nurseries" have been found in the area of ​​Florida's Bone Valley and Calvert Cliffs in Maryland. Although the newborn sharks were large in size, averaging 2.1 to 4 meters, they were still vulnerable to predators such as other sharks. In the ocean, danger awaits a newborn almost everywhere, but megalodons did everything possible to give their babies a chance to survive.

4. They were fast

Photo: Karen Carr

Meg was not only huge, but also very fast. In 1926, researcher M. Leriche made a breakthrough discovery when he discovered the vertebral column of one megalodon containing 150 spinal centers. This enabled researchers to learn more about the behavior of this giant shark. Thanks to the special shape of the spine, Meg could grab prey with powerful jaws, and then shake it violently from side to side until the flesh was torn from the bone. This is what made them so dangerous in the water - once they grabbed their prey, there was no escape.

In addition, due to their shape, they could reach speeds of at least 32 kilometers per hour, which is remarkable given their gigantic size. Their normal speed is estimated at 18 kilometers per hour. This speed allowed them to overtake representatives of different species. Dr David David Jacoby of the Zoological Society of London explained: "Megalodon was a huge apex predator that roamed the oceans at speeds that cannot be exceeded by any species of shark alive today."

3. They most likely died of starvation

Photo: Laboratory News

Although there is no conclusive evidence as to why megalodons went extinct, it is strongly believed that their enormous appetite was a problem. Around 2.6 million years ago, the levels changed dramatically, and this had a significant impact on Meg's food sources. About a third of all large marine mammals died out during this time, and any remaining food was eaten by smaller, smaller ocean hunters. Basically, the competition was fierce, and Meg needed huge amounts of food to maintain her body temperature to survive.

Megalodon numbers peaked during the mid-Miocene epoch, from 23 to 5.3 million years ago. They were found primarily near Europe, North America and the Indian Ocean, but by the time their numbers began to decline during the Pliocene epoch 2.6 million years ago, they had moved further to the South American, Asian and Australian coasts.

2. They were once mistaken for dragons

In the 17th century, Danish naturalist Nicholas Steno identified megalodon teeth. Before this, the fossilized teeth were called "tongue stones" and were believed to belong to dragons or large snakes known as "snake dragons." It was believed that if a dragon lost the tip of its tongue in battle or after death, it would turn to stone. Teeth, or tongues, were collected by peasants because they believed that they protected them from snake bites and poisoning.

When Stheno discovered that these were the teeth of a megalodon and not the tips of a dragon's tongue, it was the beginning of the end of the dragon myth. Instead, there were now even bigger monsters to worry about.

1. Mega fiasco

Photo: Discovery Channel

In 2013, when everyone thought it was safe to return to the water, the Discovery Channel released a movie called Megalodon - The Monster Shark Living Today. The film, which aired during the popular Shark Week, showed "footage" of megalodons, including a "World War II archive image" of a giant shark with a tail 19m long to its dorsal fin.

It's fair to say that this didn't impress the shark community. American actor Wil Wheaton said:

“Last night, Discovery Channel undermined its credibility during its biggest viewing week of the year. The Discovery Channel is not run by stupid people, and this was not some mistake. Someone made a conscious choice to present a work of fiction that would be better suited to the SyFy channel as truthful and factual non-fiction. This is disgusting and whoever made this decision should be ashamed."

The video may have been fake, but the backlash became very real.