Megalodon

Megalodon was a dino shark.

That is to say that Megalodon was an ancient shark who lived many thousands of years ago. Scientists can’t seem to agree on its size but it was determined that it would have been between 40 feet and 100 feet long, possibly even more.

The smallest size they estimate it to be is at least two times larger than the modern day Great white that is so feared and discussed.

Megalodon

This can only be estimated because only vertebrae have been found, along with some teeth, which are about the size of a grown person’s hand.

No other parts of the ancient whale eater are available because sharks are made up largely of cartilage and not bone, which can’t be fossilized easily.

The Megalodons teeth however are huge, about two times as big as those of a great white, and so it is supposed that he was much like a great white shark, in looks, except a great deal larger.

This Huge Sharks dinner was probably whales. Sharks today will eat about five percent of their own body weight each day.

Humans eat about the same actually. Since sharks are fish, and therefore cold blooded, they don’t have to eat as much as we do because they have no need to keep their bodies warm.
Finding any shark fossil is very rare. Shark cartilage doesn’t fossilize well, only the teeth do so because they are extremely hard.

Megalodon teeth are very close to those of the Great white shark, but are much larger. To accommodate these teeth he would have had to have a mouth that could open about seven feet high.

He could very easily swallow a great white shark completely whole.

Megalodon

Megalodon lived a very long time ago, about 5 million years ago. He lived during what we call the Miocene era. He is now extinct and gone, but still scientists argue about how long he has been extinct.

Fossilized Megalodon teeth have been found in Europe, India, Oceania Australia, North America and South America.

Find out more about the Megalondon over at Wikipedia »

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