Researchers Mistaken a School of Atlantic Mackerel to Extinct Shark Otodus Megalodon

A researcher from the Atlantic Shark Institute in Rhode Island captured a megalodon look-a-like fish using a sonar fish finder. The finder picked up the same shape as the extinct shark, and it literally got people talking about it and made headlines.

Controversial Facebook Post On Megalodon Existence

The picture was taken by Jon Dodd of the Atlantic Shark Institute three weeks ago, not far from Block Island, Rhode Island. After some time, the shape evolved into something new before dissipating. According to a Facebook post, the fish that lingered for about 15 minutes was a school of Atlantic mackerel.

So near yet so remote. Although the megalodon (Otodus megalodon) vanished over 3 million years ago and is probably not coming back, for a brief moment, some believed it had.

"So close, but so far," the message read before concluding with the sentence reminding the people that the megalodon is extinct and will probably stay that way. Additionally, the researchers noted that the final number resembled 90% of all the schools they found offshore.

Social Media Reactions on Atlantic Shark Institute Facebook Post

The post received slightly over 40 responses, including jokes and more scientific thoughts. One Facebook user questioned whether the form was a modification of the mackerel made to fend off predators like whales and dolphins and speculated that it might be sonar mimicking.

The institute replied to one social media user that they don't think we are going to see the return of the megalodon.

(Photo : PLBechly/ via Wikimedia Commons)
Megalodon 2022

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Why Do People Believe the Megalodon Is Still Alive?

According to Fossil Guy, a number of bizarre YouTube videos, phony documentaries, and some movies have led to some thinking that the megalodon is still alive today.

The fictional documentaries intentionally mislead the audience. Unaware viewers fail to recognize that these programs are entirely false. They create good monster movies, but because they are broadcast on a station that was once famed for science programs, many viewers mistakenly believe they are real.

Although they are not alive, it doesn't mean that they don't exist. Until its extinction 3.6 million years ago, the megalodon was one of the biggest predators that had ever existed, according to the Natural History Museum in the UK. It expanded to a length of between 50 and 60 feet. Due to its huge teeth, researchers believe it ate other sharks, whales, and other large species.

Otodus obliquus, a 55-million-year-old shark with a maximum length of 10 meters, is the earliest known progenitor of the megalodon. However, the evolutionary history of this shark is thought to date back to Cretalamna appendiculata, which is over 100 million years old and 105 million years old, respectively.

As additional fossils have been discovered, it has become clear that the megalodon and the ancestor of the great white shark coexisted. According to some scientists, they may have even competed with one another.

Megalodon thrived in warm, tropical and subtropical climates all throughout the planet. Megalodon teeth have been found on every continent except Antarctica, demonstrating how widely dispersed the animal was.

Many of their teeth have been found around the east coast of North America, near beaches, and at the bottom of saltwater streams and rivers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, a researcher said. It is likely due in part to the age of the rocks and also because scuba divers may go looking for the boulders because they are frequently discovered on the ocean floor.

They can also be seen in large numbers off the coasts of Australia and Morocco. Even though they are rare, they can be seen in the UK close to Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex.