Megalodon

The megalodon was a species of shark that lived millions of years ago. It was one of the largest predators in history and was known to have fed on other large sea animals such as whales. Based on the distribution of their fossilized teeth, megalodons were common in all of Earth’s oceans. Despite some similarities to the modern great white shark, the two species were not related. Thanks to several films and television specials, the creature has become a sort of urban legend in the twenty-first century. Rumors of alleged megalodon sightings have led some people to believe that the giant shark still exists. However, scientists discount those theories and insist that megalodons went extinct long ago.

Overview

The scientific name for the megalodon is Carcharocles megalodon, a name that means “giant tooth.” Because shark skeletons are made from cartilage and not bone, megalodon teeth are the only fossils left behind to gauge the creature’s size. Cartilage is a lighter connective tissue less sturdy than bone and would disintegrate over the years. The largest megalodon teeth ever found were about 7 inches (17 centimeters) long, roughly the size of a human hand. From these teeth, scientists have been able to estimate that the megalodon could grow as large as 50 to 60 feet (15.2 to 18.3 meters) and weigh about 60 to 70 tons (45 to 54 metric tons).

In contrast, the largest known great white shark was about 23 feet (7 meters) long and weighed almost 4 tons (3.6 metric tons). The largest modern shark is the whale shark, which can grow to about 32 feet (9.8 meters) long. The largest marine animal in history is the modern blue whale, which can grow as large as 105 feet (32 meters) and weigh up to 200 tons (181.4 metric tons).

Fossilized megalodon teeth have been found all over the world, proving that the creature hunted the seas worldwide. To survive, megalodons had to consume an enormous amount of food. Their diet most likely consisted of whales, dolphins, and other large sea animals. Scientists have found bite marks from megalodons on the fossilized backbones of prehistoric whales. Like modern sharks, the creatures lost or damaged teeth in the act of feeding and needed several rows of replacement teeth. Megalodons had about five rows of teeth that could number about 275.

Megalodons’ jaws were so strong that they had the most powerful bite of any known creature—prehistoric or modern. Scientists have estimated the force of a megalodon bite at between 24,000 to 40,000 pounds (10,886 to 18,144 kilograms). That force was powerful enough to bite a small whale in half. In comparison, the bite force of a great white shark is six to ten times less powerful. At 12,800 pounds (5,805 kilograms), even the bite force of a Tyrannosaurus rex fell short of the megalodon.

Megalodons lived during a period known as the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. The Miocene began about 23 million years ago and ended about 5.3 million years ago. The Pliocene began about 5.3 million years ago and ended about 2.6 million years ago. The end of the Pliocene corresponded with the extinction of the megalodon. Scientists do not know the reason the creatures went extinct. They theorize that climate change caused Earth’s temperature to cool and dropped sea levels around the world. In turn, this may have led to the extinction of the larger sea animals that made up megalodons’ diets. Despite some claims to the contrary, megalodons did not evolve into today’s great white sharks. When the megalodon went extinct, its evolutionary line died out.

Topic Today

As evidenced by the popularity of the 1975 film Jaws and the Discovery Channel’s documentary promotion known as Shark Week, the public has long been fascinated with sharks. It is not surprising that stories of giant prehistoric sharks would also capture imaginations. In the early twenty-first century, reports and alleged videos of megalodon sightings stirred up the possibility that the creatures still survived in the depths of the oceans. Scientists have found no evidence that the reports were true and dismissed them as hoaxes or the result of overactive imaginations. However, some people still clung to the belief that megalodons could still exist.

In 2013, the Discovery Channel ran a fake documentary called “Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives” as part of its Shark Week programming. The documentary stated that it was a work of fiction, but some viewers still believed it was a factual account. Two years later, Discovery revisited the topic with “Megalodon: The New Evidence.” The specials angered scientists who thought the network was fooling its viewers and fueling a belief the giant sharks still existed. In 2018, Discovery aired a more fact-based documentary on the creature called “Megalodon: Fact vs. Fiction.” Among the topics the documentary addressed was the controversy over the network’s airing of the 2013 special.

Interest in the megalodon also spawned several theatrical films about the creature. The 2002 film Megalodon pits the crew of an oil rig off the coast of Greenland against a giant shark. The low-budget film was released in Japan in 2002 and in the United States in 2004. Hollywood had more success in 2018 with the film The Meg, starring English actor Jason Statham. Statham plays a former US Navy deep-sea diver who must stop a megalodon before it can threaten populated areas. The Meg was the top-grossing film at the US box office in its first week of release, and as of mid-September 2018, it had earned more than $131 million in the United States.

Bibliography

Bradford, Alina. “Facts about Megalodon: The Long-Gone Shark.” Live Science, 16 Aug. 2018, www.livescience.com/63361-megalodon-facts.html. Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.

Emmer, Rick. Megalodon: Fact Or Fiction? Chelsea House, 2010.

Imster, Eleanor. “We Promise You Won’t Be Eaten by a Megalodon.” Earth Sky, 17 Aug. 2018, earthsky.org/earth/do-megalodon-sharks-exist-myth. Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.

Livingston, Stephenie. “UF Study: Megalodon Shark Became Extinct 2.6 Million Years Ago.” University of Florida, 22 Oct. 2014, news.ufl.edu/archive/2014/10/uf-study-megalodon-shark-became-extinct-26-million-years-ago.html#prettyPhoto. Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.

Long, John. “Giant Monster Megalodon Sharks Lurking in Our Oceans: Be Serious!” The Conversation, 24 Jan. 2016, theconversation.com/giant-monster-megalodon-sharks-lurking-in-our-oceans-be-serious-53164. Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.

“10 Killer Megalodon Shark Facts.” Fossil Era, 2018, www.fossilera.com/pages/megalodon. Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.

Wu, Katherine J. “The Real Science behind the Megalodon.” Smithsonian.com, 3 Aug. 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/articles/real-science-megalodon-180969860/. Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.

Yahr, Emily. “A Fake Shark Week Documentary about Megalodons Caused Controversy. Why Is Discovery Bringing It Up Again?” Washington Post, 26 July 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/07/26/a-fake-shark-week-documentary-about-megalodons-caused-controversy-why-is-discovery-bringing-it-up-again/?utm‗term=.e3c9da3b3d5c. Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.