Megalodon when he lived. Where does Megalodon live? When did the prehistoric shark live

Unexplored corners of our planet - mountains, forests, seas and oceans - still hide a huge number of mysterious inhabitants. It is difficult to imagine what creatures lived long before the present, but, fortunately, numerous finds make it possible.

The ocean is the least explored part of the Earth. Unknown animals may be hiding under the water column. One of these animals was the megalodon.

First guesses

It is considered the largest shark known to science at the moment.

Great white shark tooth and fossilized megalodon tooth

The first find to confirm existence was teeth.

True, at first it was believed that these were petrified tongues of snakes or dragons. Only in 1667, N. Stensen from Denmark suggested that these were the teeth of a shark.

The year 1835 became famous for the fact that Lewis Agassiz, a Swiss naturalist, after writing a work on fossil fish, gave the scientific name of an ancient shark - Carcharodon megalodon.

Unfortunately, no complete megalodon skeleton has been found. Like all sharks, it consisted of cartilage, so it has not been preserved. Only fossilized teeth and vertebrae were found.

The age of the remains is 2.8 - 2.5 million years. It turns out that these sharks existed in the early Miocene - late Pliocene.

Unusual finds:

• Teeth. The most common finds of megalodon remains are teeth. Only the white shark, now living, has a similar structure. But the teeth of the ancient shark were much larger - at least 2-3 times, more powerful, stronger and had uniform notches. The shape of the teeth is triangular, or V-shaped. Diagonally, the size reached 18-19 cm. The remains of a giant fish were found all over the world: Europe, Africa, North and South America, Cuba, Jamaica, Japan, India, and even in the Mariana Trench. The largest tooth was found in Peru - 19 cm, and in South Carolina - 18.4 cm.
• Vertebrae.In addition to teeth, researchers around the world have found megalodon vertebrae. In 1926, in Belgium, near Antwerp, a fragment was found consisting of 150 vertebrae, the diameter of which was up to 15.5 cm. In 1983, in Denmark, 20 vertebrae from 10 to 23 cm. In 2006, a vertebral column with the largest vertebrae - up to 23 cm in diameter.

Body dimensions

No full-fledged remains, except for teeth and vertebrae, were found, therefore, to estimate the size of the megalodon, scientists are forced to resort to reconstructions, comparing it with a great white shark.

Comparative sizes: maximum and minimum size of megalodon, great white shark and human

1. Bashford Dean, American Museum of Natural History, made the first attempt in the 1900s. The jaw recreated by him exceeded 3 meters, respectively, the body length of the fossil shark reached approximately 30 meters.
2. J. E. Randall in 1973, conducting research, concluded that megalodon had a body up to 13 meters long.
3. M. D. Gottfried and a group of scientists in 1996 reported that the body length was from 16 to 20 meters, and the weight reached 47 tons.
4. Clifford Jeremy in 2002 checked the previously obtained data by comparing them with new calculations. It turned out that the length of the body was 16.5 meters.
5. Catalina Pimento in 2013, analyzing the teeth found, received new results. The body length was 17.9 meters.

Jaw: structure and bite force

Megalodon jaw at Baltimore National Aquarium, Maryland, USA

In 1989, Japanese scientists described the preserved remains as having an almost complete set of teeth.

Megalodon had very strong teeth, the total number of which reached 276 pieces. They were arranged in 5 rows.

Paleontologists believe that the jaw length of the largest individuals reached 2 meters.

Despite their huge size, the teeth were very thin and had a small cutting edge.

The roots of the teeth were powerful relative to the overall height of the tooth.

Thanks to these teeth, the megalodon was able to open the chest or bite through the vertebrae of large animals without breaking, even if they cut into the bones.

S. Uro with a team of scientists conducted an experiment in 2008, the purpose of which was to determine the bite force of a megalodon.

Based on the results, it reached from 108.5 to 182 kN. These figures are much higher than the bite force of the dunkleosteus - 7.4 kN, the white shark - 18.2 kN. The closest indicators are for Deinosuchus - 103 kN, tyrannosaurus - 156 kN, Pliosaurus Funke - 150 kN.

Skeletal reconstruction

Research by scientists and attempts to reconstruct the megalodon body have allowed the scientific community to determine the skeletal structure.

Reconstructed megalodon skeleton at the Calvert Maritime Museum, Maryland, USA

All indicators are described in comparison with the great white shark: the skull was cartilaginous, but much thicker and more durable; fins - massive and thick for movement and control of a giant body; the number of vertebrae exceeded the number of other specimens.

Based on all the data obtained, Gottfried was able to reconstruct the complete skeleton of the megalodon: it came out 11.5 meters in length.

It turns out that megalodon is the largest of all existing fish. But such a large size of the body gave certain inconveniences to the prehistoric shark, namely:

• Gas exchange;
• Minimum stamina;
• Slow metabolism;
• Insufficiently active lifestyle.

Life and ways of hunting

The remains found indicate that he ate cetaceans - sperm whales, bowhead whales, cetotheres, dolphins, porpoises, sirens, sea turtles.

A large number of whale bones found to date have clear marks of deep scratches, as if from large teeth.

Scientists are sure that these are megalodon teeth marks. Moreover, next to such remains, as a rule, were the teeth themselves.

All sharks on the hunt use a complex strategy. But megalodon was an exception in this: due to the size of the body, he could not develop high speed, had a limited stamina.

Most likely, he hunted, using exclusively ambushes, waiting for the approach of prey.

There are versions that he could go to the ram, then killed and ate the victim.

B. Kent believes that, having such huge teeth, the ancient fish tried to break bones in order to damage the vital organs in the chest.

Causes of extinction

The megalodon shark became extinct 3 million years ago. There are several reasons.

1. According to scientists, the reason for the disappearance of these large predators is competition with other animals during food shortages.
2. global climate change. Their main food was small cetaceans, which inhabited the warm shallow waters of the shelf seas. Perhaps a huge fish lived around the same place. At the moment of cooling in the Pliocene, glaciers bound the water, forcing the shelf seas to disappear. The water in the oceans became colder, which affected both the megalodons and their prey.
3. The emergence of toothed whales- ancestors of modern killer whales. They had a more developed brain and led a herd life. Due to their huge size, megalodons could not swim maneuverably, therefore, most likely, they were attacked by killer whales.

Megalodon in the 21st century

Some scientists are convinced that he lives to this day. In favor of this fact, they give completely unthinkable arguments that do not withstand any criticism.

First, they say, only 5% of the world's oceans have been explored. Perhaps ancient sharks may be hiding in unexplored parts.

Secondly, there are several pictures that show fragments of the body of a megalodon. However, all this has been refuted, and at the moment, the world scientific community is absolutely sure that this species is extinct.

Incredible Facts

Megalodon (Carcharocles megalodon) is a huge shark that lived about 2.6 million to 23 million years ago. However, some scientists report even more ancient finds related to this monster.

Megalodon was one of the most feared, strong and invulnerable predators that ever existed on our planet. This giant animal plied the vastness of the ocean, leaving few chances for those living creatures that were not lucky enough to meet him on the way.

Sharks constantly renew their teeth, losing up to 20,000 teeth during their lifetime. Most often they break them on the bodies of their victims. But sharks are lucky - they have five rows of teeth in their mouths, so such losses go unnoticed.

Most megalodon teeth that are for sale or have been sold online are worn out. Obviously, the reason is that this shark spent most of its life hunting and eating. It seems that this giant rarely felt full.

Extinct shark

Feast of humpback whales

Such huge predatory creatures, which were megalodons, must have had a serious appetite. The mouth of an ancient shark in the open state could reach a colossal size - 3.4 by 2.7 meters.

They could devour prey of any size - from small animals (such as dolphins, other sharks and sea turtles) to huge humpback whales. Thanks to their powerful jaws, the bite force of which could be from about 110 thousand to 180 thousand Newtons, Megalodon inflicted terrible wounds, crushing the bones of the victim.

As mentioned earlier, scientists have found fossilized remains of whale skeleton bones with megaladon bite marks. Thanks to these findings, scientists were able to study exactly how terrible predators devoured their victims.

Some bones even preserved pieces of the tips of the megaladon's teeth, which broke off during the attack of ancient sharks. Nowadays great white sharks also prey on whales, but prefer to attack young or weakened (wounded) adults, which are easier to kill.

Megadolon lived everywhere

In its heyday, the ancient megalodon shark could be found in oceans around the world. This is evidenced by finds in the form of teeth of this predator, which are found almost everywhere.

petrified remains, belonging to these monstrous creatures, have been found in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, the Canary Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malta, the Grenadines, and India.

In other words, if these territories were under water millions of years ago and there was food in them, then the megalodon also lived there. It is believed that the life expectancy of the ancient shark ranged from 20 to 40 years, but it is possible that some representatives of this species lived longer.

Another advantage that megalodons had was that they were geothermal animals. This means that these giant sharks could maintain a constant body temperature regardless of the external temperature.

Thus, the oceans of the entire planet were open to megalodons. Now this ancient shark is the object of attention mainly of cryptozoologists. Indeed, there is practically no chance that we will ever encounter a live megalodon.

Despite this, one should not forget, for example, about the coelacanth, a cross-finned fish, which turned out to be a living fossil; or about the yeti crab, a fluffy crab living in the area of ​​hydrothermal vents, which was only discovered in 2005 when the submarine sank to a depth of 2200 meters.

Megalodon preferred shallow depths

It is rather difficult to imagine that such a huge predator as the megalodon could live anywhere but the deepest parts of the world's oceans. However, as recent finds show, these sharks preferred to swim near coastal areas.

Staying in warm, shallow coastal waters allowed megalodons to reproduce efficiently. Researchers from the University of Florida, USA, spoke about the discovery fossilized remains ten million years old very young megalodons in Panama.

More than four hundred fossilized teeth collected in shallow water have been found. All these teeth belong to very small cubs of ancient sharks. Similar remains of cubs have been found in the so-called Valley of Bones in Florida, as well as in coastal areas of Calvert County, Maryland, USA.

And although newborn megalodons were already striking in their size (on average from 2.1 to 4 meters, which is comparable to the size of modern sharks), they were vulnerable to various predators (including other sharks). The ocean is an extremely dangerous place for any newborn predators, so sharks tried to stay in shallow water to give their offspring the best chance of survival.

Megalodon was very fast

Megalodons were not only gigantic in size - they were also very fast for their size. In 1926, a researcher named Leriche made a startling discovery when he discovered a more or less preserved vertebral column of a megalodon.

This column consisted of 150 vertebrae. Thanks to this find, researchers have been able to learn much more about the behavior and habits of these giant sharks. After studying the shape of the vertebra, scientists came to the conclusion that megalodon clung to the victim with its powerful jaws, and then began to move his head from side to side, trying to tear a piece of flesh from the bones.

It was this manner of hunting that made the ancient shark such a dangerous predator - once it got into its jaws, the victim had no way to escape from there. Again, due to the shape of its body, the megalodon could reach speeds of 32 or more kilometers per hour.

White sharks also develop great speed in a dash, but for the size of a megalodon, its speed is considered simply incredible. It is believed that in the normal state ancient sharks moved at an average speed of 18 kilometers per hour. But even this speed was enough for the megalodon to be faster than many other species in the ocean.

However, according to other experts, in particular, eminent scientists from the Zoological Society of London, this speed was higher. Some researchers believe that megalodon was able to move through the water at an average speed that exceeds the average speed of any modern shark.

ancient shark

Megaldons died out due to starvation

Despite the fact that there is no direct evidence that exactly how and why these ancient sharks began to die out, many experts suggest that the huge appetite of these predators contributed to this to a large extent.

About 2.6 million years ago, the world's sea levels began to change dramatically, which had a significant impact on many of the species that were the main food source for giant sharks.

During this period of time, more than a third of all marine mammals died out. Surviving species of smaller sizes, which could become the prey of megalodon, often became a source of food for smaller and nimble predators of the ocean.

Whatever it was, the competition was very tough. At the same time, megalodon still needed huge amounts of food daily, which would allow him to maintain his body temperature at the level necessary for his survival.

The heyday of the megalodon population occurred approximately to the middle of the Miocene epoch, which began about 23 million years ago and ended about 5.3 million years ago.

By the end of the era, megalodon could be found mainly off the coast of Europe, North America and in the Indian Ocean. Closer to the period of mass extinction, that is, to the Pliocene period (about 2.6 million years ago), the ancient Aguls began to migrate to the coast of South America, Asia and Australia.

Megalodon fueled human myths about dragons

In the 17th century, the Danish naturalist Nicholas Steno tried to determine the origin of the megalodon teeth he found. Before this period mankind did not associate such finds with giant sharks in any way that lived millions of years ago. Yes, and could not connect.

In those years, the teeth of the megalodon were referred to as "stone tongues". People sincerely believed that these were not teeth at all, but the tongues of dragons or giant snake-like lizards, similar to dragons, the existence of which then few doubted.

It was widely believed that the dragon could lose the tip of his tongue in a fight or at the time of death, which then turned to stone. The tips of the dragon's tongues (that is, the teeth of megalodons) were willingly collected by the inhabitants, who believed that they were talismans that prevented bites and poisoning.

And when Steno came to the conclusion that these stone triangles were not the tips of the tongues of dragons at all, but the teeth of a huge shark, the myths about dragons began to gradually become a thing of the past. Instead, there was real evidence of pre-existing other monsters.

Mega fake

In 2013, when humanity is already accustomed to the fact that the expanses of the ocean have become relatively safe, the Discovery Channel released a mockumentary called Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives.

This film, shown on the channel as part of the so-called "Shark Week", demonstrated allegedly real facts of the existence of a megalodon in our time, including "archival photos of the Second World War."

According to these photographs, the length of only one shark's tail should have been at least 19 meters. However, this movie did not impress anyone except ordinary inhabitants. And they eventually spoke out, along with critics, extremely negatively about the Discovery deception.

The megalodon skeleton consisted of cartilage, not bones, so very few remains have survived to this day. Megalodon teeth are the largest fish teeth. Their length reached 18 cm. Among all known marine inhabitants, no one else has such huge teeth. The white shark has the most similar teeth, but they are much smaller (3 times). No complete skeleton was found, only vertebrae. The most famous find of a vertebral column belonging to a megalodon was made in Belgium in 1929.

The remains of megalodon have been found all over the globe, even in the famous Mariana Trench at a depth of more than 10 km. The ubiquity suggests that it was a super predator that lived where it wanted and was everywhere at the top of the food chain.

Megalodon teeth are so huge that for a long time they were mistaken for the remains of dragons or giant sea serpents. It was not until 1667 that the naturalist Nils Stensen suggested that the dragon's "stone tongues" were the teeth of a huge shark. The predator took its position in the scientific classification in the middle of the 19th century. under the name Carcharodon megalodon. Since the teeth of the megalodon strongly resemble those of the Great White Shark, it was assigned to one genus. Carcharodon where he remained until the mid-1960s. First, the Belgian researcher E. Casier proposed to transfer the megalodon to a separate genus Procarcharodon, and then the Soviet scientist L. Glikman transferred the predator to the genus Megaselachus. However, Glickman drew attention to the fact that megalodon teeth are of 2 types - with jagged edges and without jagged edges. “Smooth” and “serrated” teeth until 1987 moved from one genus to another, until the French scientist and ichthyologist A Capetta assigned megalodon and its closest species neighbors (with serrated edges) to the genus Carcharocles megalodon. Currently, this classification is accepted by the scientific community.

Megalodon Dimensions

Most of all, the megalodon resembled a great white shark. Since a well-preserved skeleton has not been found, scientists can judge its size based on the morphology of the white shark and drawing parallels between animals. In total, there are several options for calculating the size of the megalodon. Most methods determine the length of an animal based on a calculated proportion between the predator's body and its teeth. Presumably, the body length of megalodon varied from 13 m (according to the method of J. E. Randall) to 16 m (method of Gottfried). Some scientists believe that the animal could reach even larger sizes - 25-30 m.

Body weight could reach 47 tons. This makes the megalodon the largest fish among all fish known to science.

Megalodon habits

The habits of megalodon are judged by the remains of its victims found, as well as by the habits of modern large carnivorous sharks. He hunted cetaceans, sperm whales, dolphins, porpoises, various pinnipeds. It was a superpredator, the victims of which could be any animals at all, although the size of the megalodon implies that he hunted large fish and mammals. The main diet was occupied by cetaceans - bones with traces of megalodon bites were often found among the fossil remains of whales. Determining the bite of a megalodon is not difficult - it is of huge size and with characteristic scratches left by the jagged edges of sharp teeth. Sometimes scientists find whale bones with megalodon teeth stuck in them.

Usually sharks attack their prey in vulnerable places, but megalodon, apparently, acted a little differently. The remains of some of the megalodon victims showed that the predator rammed its prey. Scientists believe that this is how he broke bones and damaged the internal organs of the victim. After that, the immobilized victim was devoured by a predator. Even if the prey of the megalodon was large, the shark always tried to first deprive it of the ability to move by biting its fins and tail, and after that it killed it and ate it.

Extinction

The reason for the extinction of the predator is not fully known. Scientists have several hypotheses for the extinction of the megalodon.

• Decrease in the temperature of the world's oceans. 15-17 million years ago, glaciation in the northern hemisphere and the blocking of the sea strait between North and South America led to a decrease in temperature on the planet. Growing glaciers also led to a drop in the water level of the world's oceans. Fossils confirm that with falling water levels and lower temperatures, the habitat of the megalodon moved to warmer regions. Breeding and feeding grounds for giant sharks were also affected.
• Hunger. By the end of the Miocene, most species of baleen whales became extinct. Namely, baleen whales were the main diet of megalodon. The surviving whale species were more adapted to the existing habitat conditions, were faster and preferred cooler waters. It was difficult for the megalodon to hunt them, and there was no suitable prey to satisfy the colossal appetite.
• Competition with predatory whales. The emergence of flocking predatory mammals that successfully competed with megalodon. Famous killer whales turned out to be more successful hunters. They were faster, they hunted all large marine animals, and they themselves were practically invulnerable due to their great speed and quick wit.

Scientists believe that all three factors led to the death of the giant. The cooling of the ocean and the lack of food played a significant role in the death of the megalodon, and against this background, the newly appeared predators finally forced out the significantly thinned ranks of megalodons.

Megalodon is the subject of much speculation that it still exists in the deepest and most remote reaches of the world's oceans. Among the inhabitants, deep-sea depressions and trenches are considered almost the official homeland of the megalodon, and at the same time other sea giants, such as dunkleosteus. "Documentary" films are shot, photographs and stories of "eyewitnesses" are published. All these materials quickly become very popular among viewers and readers. But none of the scientific institutions will ever confirm the authenticity of such "facts". Officially, this predator is considered extinct. In the entire history of mankind, the remains of a megalodon were not found, the age of which would be younger than 1.5 million years. And it's just that this shark is too big to be invisible.

Although the official position of the scientific community does not stop the "researchers". Some even consider the results of a survey among students to be a convincing reason for the existence of a megalodon.

Niramin - Oct 12th, 2015

Megalodon is the largest shark in the world that roamed the ocean in prehistoric times. About what she was like, scientists judge by her fossilized, few remains - vertebrae and teeth. It is not the size of the fish that is striking: the largest shark was no more than 30 m in length, which is similar to the size of the blue whale.

Megalodon was a merciless, brutal killer that hunted in the shallow waters of the seas and oceans. The superpredator fed on large prey - whales, dolphins, sharks.

Theorists believe that the last monster shark became extinct over a million years ago. But its existence is still shrouded in deep mystery. One thing is undeniable - the remains of a shark larger than a megalodon have never been found.

The mouth of the megalodon is more than 2 m. The teeth of the predator are cone-shaped, 18 cm in height, with notches. The mouth has 276 teeth arranged in 5 rows.

The predator did not rush at the victim with an open mouth. Developed tremendous speed and pushed, stunned her. The blows were fatal. Large prey, such as whales, were immobilized by the shark by biting off its fins.

Information about the existence of sharks is kept secret by scientists. But from the leaked information it follows that the megalodons are alive, their immunity has become invulnerable, and their aggression has doubled.

Japanese fishermen were attacked by the monster. A similar meeting was described by David Stead, a well-known Australian ichthyologist. According to him, the length of the attacked shark was more than 35 m, and the head was the size of the roof of a port shed.

Everything is ambiguous. The secret of the megalodon, which leads a deep-sea lifestyle, is kept by the oceans.

See what Megalodon looked like:

Video: Megalodon an extinct species of shark

Video: MEGALODON EXISTS

Video: The Nightmarish Megalodon | Sharkzilla - Shark Week 2012

Not everyone knows that after the disappearance of the dinosaurs, the super-predator megalodon climbed to the top of the food chain, however, he seized power over other animals not on land, but in the endless waters of the oceans.

Description of megalodon

The name of this gigantic shark that lived in the Paleogene - Neogene (and according to some data, reached the Pleistocene) is translated from Greek as "big tooth". It is believed that the megalodon kept marine life at bay for quite a long time, appearing about 28.1 million years ago and sinking into oblivion about 2.6 million years ago.

Appearance

A lifetime portrait of a megalodon (a typical cartilaginous fish devoid of bones) was recreated from its teeth, which are scattered in abundance across the ocean. In addition to teeth, the researchers found vertebrae and entire vertebral columns preserved due to the high concentration of calcium (the mineral helped the vertebrae to withstand the weight of the shark and the stress that arose from muscle efforts).

It is interesting! Before the Danish anatomist and geologist Niels Stensen, the teeth of an extinct shark were considered ordinary stones until he identified the rocky formations as megalodon teeth. It happened in the 17th century, after which Stensen was called the first paleontologist.

To begin with, a shark jaw was reconstructed (with five rows of strong teeth, whose total number reached 276), which, according to paleogenetics, was 2 meters. Then they set about the body of the megalodon, giving it the maximum dimensions, which was typical for females, and also based on the assumption that the monster was closely related to the white shark.

The restored skeleton, 11.5 m long, resembles a skeleton, sharply increased in width / length, and frightens visitors to the Maritime Museum of Maryland (USA). A wide skull, giant toothy jaws and a blunt short snout - as ichthyologists say, "the face of the megalodon was a pig." In general, a repulsive and terrifying appearance.

By the way, nowadays scientists have already moved away from the thesis about the similarity of megalodon and carcharodon (white shark) and suggest that outwardly it rather resembled a multiply enlarged sand shark. In addition, it turned out that the behavior of megalodon (due to its huge size and special ecological niche) was strikingly different from all modern sharks.

Megalodon Dimensions

Disputes about the maximum size of the superpredator are still ongoing, and a number of methods have been developed to determine its true size: someone suggests starting from the number of vertebrae, others draw a parallel between the size of the teeth and the length of the body. The triangular teeth of megalodon are still found in different parts of the world, which indicates the wide distribution of these sharks throughout the oceans.

It is interesting! Carcharodon has the most similar teeth in shape, but the teeth of its extinct relative are more massive, stronger, almost three times larger and more evenly serrated. Megalodon (unlike related species) does not have a pair of lateral teeth, which gradually disappeared from its teeth.

Megalodon was armed with the largest teeth (in comparison with other living and extinct sharks) in the entire history of the Earth. Their oblique height, or diagonal length, reached 18–19 cm, and the lowest canine grew up to 10 cm, while the tooth of a white shark (the giant of the modern shark world) does not exceed 6 cm.

Comparison and study of the remains of megalodon, consisting of fossilized vertebrae and numerous teeth, led to the idea of ​​its colossal size. Ichthyologists are sure that an adult megalodon towered up to 15–16 meters with a mass of about 47 tons. More impressive parameters are considered debatable.

Character and lifestyle

Giant fish, to which the megalodon belonged, are rarely fast swimmers - for this they do not have enough endurance and the necessary degree of metabolism. Their metabolism is slowed down, and their movement is not energetic enough: by the way, according to these indicators, the megalodon is comparable not so much with the white shark as with the whale shark. Another vulnerable spot of the superpredator is the low strength of cartilage, which is inferior in strength to bone tissue, even taking into account their increased calcification.

Megalodon simply could not lead an active lifestyle due to the fact that a huge mass of muscle tissue (musculature) was attached not to bones, but to cartilage. That is why the monster, looking for prey, preferred to sit in ambush, avoiding intense pursuit: the megalodon was hampered by low speed and a meager stamina. Now 2 methods are known, with the help of which the shark killed its victims. She chose the method, focusing on the dimensions of the gastronomic facility.

It is interesting! The first method was a crushing ram applied to small cetaceans - the megalodon attacked areas with hard bones (shoulders, upper spine, chest) to break them and injure the heart or lungs.

Having experienced a blow to vital organs, the victim quickly lost the ability to move and died from severe internal injuries. Megalodon invented the second method of attack much later, when massive cetaceans, which appeared in the Pliocene, entered the sphere of his hunting interests. Ichthyologists have found many tail vertebrae and bones from flippers belonging to large Pliocene whales, with bite marks from megalodon. These finds led to the conclusion that the superpredator first immobilized large prey by biting off / tearing off its fins or flippers, and only then finished it off completely.

Lifespan

Range, habitats

The fossil remains of megalodon told that its world population was numerous and occupied almost the entire oceans, with the exception of cold regions. According to ichthyologists, megalodon was found in temperate and subtropical waters of both hemispheres, where the water temperature fluctuated in the range of + 12 + 27 ° C.

The teeth and vertebrae of the super shark are found in different places on the globe, such as:

• North America;
• South America;
• Japan and India;
• Europe;
• Australia;
• New Zealand;
• Africa.

Megalodon teeth have been found far from the main continents - for example, in the Mariana Trench of the Pacific Ocean. And in Venezuela, super-predator teeth were found in freshwater sediments, which led to the conclusion that megalodon is adapted to life in fresh water (like a bull shark).

Megalodon Diet

Until toothed whales like killer whales appeared, the monster shark, as it should be for a super-predator, sat at the top of the food pyramid and did not limit itself in the choice of food. A wide range of living creatures was explained by the monstrous size of the megalodon, its massive jaws and huge teeth with a small cutting edge. Due to its size, the megalodon coped with such animals that no modern shark is able to overcome.

It is interesting! From the point of view of ichthyologists, megalodon, with its short jaw, was not able (unlike the giant mosasaurus) to tightly capture and effectively dismember large prey. He usually tore off fragments of the skin and superficial muscles.

It has now been established that the basic food of the megalodon was smaller sharks and turtles, whose shells responded well to the pressure of powerful jaw muscles and the impact of numerous teeth.

The diet of megalodon, along with sharks and sea turtles, included:

• bowhead whales;
• small sperm whales;
• minke whales;
• odobenocetops;
• cetoteria (baleen whales);
• porpoises and sirens;
• dolphins and pinnipeds.

Megalodon did not hesitate to attack objects from 2.5 to 7 m long, for example, primitive baleen whales, which could not resist the superpredator and did not differ in high speed to escape from it. In 2008, a team of researchers from the US and Australia determined the bite force of a megalodon using computer simulations.

The results of the calculation were recognized as stunning - the megalodon squeezed the prey 9 times stronger than any current shark, and 3 times more tangible than the combed crocodile (the holder of the current record for bite power). True, in terms of absolute bite force, Megalodon was still inferior to some extinct species, such as Deinosuchus, Hoffmann's Mosasaurus, Sarcosuchus, Purussaurus and Daspletosaurus.

natural enemies

Despite the indisputable status of a superpredator, the megalodon had serious enemies (they are also food competitors). Ichthyologists include toothed whales, more precisely, sperm whales like zygophysiters and Melville's leviathans, as well as some giant sharks, for example, Carcharocles chubutensis from the genus Carcharocles. Sperm whales and later killer whales were not afraid of adult super-sharks and often hunted juvenile megalodon.

Extinction of megalodon

The disappearance of the species from the face of the Earth is timed to coincide with the junction of the Pliocene and Pleistocene: it is believed that megalodon died out about 2.6 million years ago, and possibly much later - 1.6 million years ago.

Causes of extinction

Paleontologists still cannot accurately name the reason that became decisive for the death of the megalodon, and therefore they talk about a combination of factors (other top predators and global climate change). It is known that in the Pliocene epoch, the bottom between North and South America heaved up, and the Pacific and Atlantic oceans divided the Isthmus of Panama. Warm currents, having changed directions, could no longer deliver the necessary amount of heat to the Arctic, and the northern hemisphere cooled significantly.

This is the first negative factor that affected the way of life of megalodons, accustomed to warm waters. In the Pliocene, small whales were replaced by large ones, which preferred the cold northern climate. Populations of large whales began to migrate, swimming away to cool waters in summer, and the megalodon lost its usual prey.

Important! Around the middle of the Pliocene, without year-round access to large prey, megalodons began to starve, which provoked a surge in cannibalism, in which the young were especially affected. The second reason for the extinction of megalodon is the appearance of the ancestors of modern killer whales, toothed whales, endowed with a more developed brain and leading a collective lifestyle.

Due to their solid size and inhibited metabolism, megalodons lost out to toothed whales in terms of high-speed swimming and maneuverability. Megalodon was also vulnerable in other positions - it was not able to protect its gills, and also periodically fell into tonic immobility (like most sharks). It is not surprising that killer whales often feasted on young megalodons (hiding in coastal waters), and when united, they also killed adults. It is believed that the megalodons that lived in the southern hemisphere became the most recent extinct.

Megalodon alive?

Some cryptozoologists are sure that the monster shark could well have survived to this day. In their conclusions, they proceed from the well-known thesis: a species is classified as extinct if no signs of its stay on the planet are found for more than 400 thousand years. But how, in this case, to interpret the findings of paleontologists and ichthyologists? The "fresh" teeth of megalodons found in the Baltic Sea and near Tahiti were recognized as practically "children's" - the age of the teeth, which did not even have time to completely petrify, is 11 thousand years.

Another relatively recent surprise, dating back to 1954, is 17 monstrous teeth stuck in the hull of the Australian ship Rachel Cohen and discovered while cleaning the bottom of shells. The teeth were analyzed and the verdict was that they belong to a megalodon.

It is interesting! Skeptics call the Rachel Cohen incident a hoax. Their opponents never tire of repeating that the World Ocean has so far been studied by 5–10%, and it is impossible to completely exclude the existence of megalodon in its depths.

Adherents of the theory of the modern megalodon armed themselves with iron arguments proving the secrecy of the shark tribe. So, the world learned about the whale shark only in 1828, and only in 1897 from the depths of the oceans a goblin shark surfaced (in the literal and figurative senses), previously classified as irrevocably extinct species.

Only in 1976 did mankind become acquainted with the inhabitants of the deep sea, largemouth sharks, when one of them got stuck in an anchor chain thrown by a research vessel near about. Oahu (Hawaii). Since then, largemouth sharks have been seen no more than 30 times (usually in the form of carrion on the coast). It has not yet been possible to carry out a total scan of the World Ocean, and no one has yet set such a large-scale task for themselves. And the megalodon itself, which has adapted to deep water, will not approach the coast (because of its huge size).

The eternal rivals of the super-shark, sperm whales, have adapted to the considerable pressure of the water column and feel good, plunging 3 kilometers and occasionally floating up to take a breath of air. Megalodon, on the other hand, has (or had?) an undeniable physiological advantage - it has gills that supply the body with oxygen. The megalodon has no good reason to reveal its presence, which means that there is hope that people will still hear about it.