Researchers from the U.K. used computational reconstruction to reveal, for the first time, the size and proportion of the gigantic prehistoric megalodon at different stages of its life.
The megalodon ruled the oceans millions of years ago with its teeth as big as hands and a dorsal fin as big as an adult human at six feet tall. It was the largest shark and largest fish on record.
Its scientific name Carcharocles megalodon, means "giant tooth," owing to its massive teeth that are almost three times the size of a modern great white shark. The shark's fossilized bones and teeth helped scientists know what the creature was like before it went extinct.
The Real Size of the Gigantic Megalodon Shark
Previously, scientists have only estimated the size of a megalodon shark. But a recent study from researchers at the University of Bristol in southwestern England and Swansea University in South Wales reveals the gigantic prehistoric shark's real size for the first time.
The researchers used mathematical computations to reconstruct the megalodon shark from its rare fossilized remains. They published their research in the journal Scientific Reports on September 3.
According to the researchers, the megalodon shark species could grow up to 18 meters (59 feet) and weighed about 48 tons. That is way larger than the sharks who have existed and much larger than today's great white sharks.
They also said that the megalodon shark has teeth that are as big as human hands, which they believe could have a bite force of over ten tons, which is five times greater than that of the great white shark with only two tons bite force.
It would also have a dorsal fin at 1.62 meters in length equal to a human adult's height, and its tail would have been as long as 3.85 meters. The computational reconstruction also suggests that the 16-meter megalodon would have had a head that is about 4.65 meters long.
They compared the teeth of modern shark species to the megalodon to estimate the gigantic shark's size, which they believe would grow into adults in proportion. That means the researchers were able to estimate the growth curve of the megalodon based on the modern species.
Lead researcher Jack Cooper, who has a master's degree in Palaeobiology at the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, said that the megalodon would have fed on small whales and pinnipeds, such as seals and sea lions.
He added that there were fossils of these animals discovered with serrated bites, which suggests the megalodon must have eaten them. The megalodon was what inspired Cooper to pursue Paleobiology.
Previous research only compares megalodon and great white sharks. But with this new research, it expanded to five more modern species of shark.
Extinction of Megalodon
The 2018 movie "The Meg" has put back to life the gigantic prehistoric shark. However, experts believe that these sharks had existed long before modern humans came into the picture.
In 2014, researchers from the University of Zurich studied the megalodon fossils and found that the species date back in the middle Miocene epoch to the Pliocene epoch or about 15.9 million to 2.6 million years ago.
A small part of their research, about 6 out of 10,000 simulations, showed a 1% chance that megalodons can still be alive today. But that chance is pretty slim, and researchers reject the idea of megalodon's existence today as there has been no concrete evidence, with the youngest fossil found is dated 2.6 million years ago.
In conclusion, scientists agree that megalodons have long been extinct.
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