The Megalodon

Megalodon | Image Credit: By Spotty11222 at English Wikipedia

What is A Megalodon?

The Megalodon was one of the most feared sea creatures in history. With a size of 20 meters, weighing approximately 50-70 tons, a Megalodon was  twice as big as the largest recorded Great White Shark and three times heavier. A Megalodon was a prehistoric species that inhabited the seas for 10 million years until 2.6 million years ago when they became extinct due to a cooler climate change known as the beginning of the Ice Age.

The growing competition for food also played a part in the Megalodon extinction. A Megalodon looks very similar to a Great White Shark with an oval-shaped body and pointed snout, but has very different teeth – up to 1-foot long with serrated edges.

Megalodon tooth (left); Great White Shark teeth (right) | Image Credit: Florida International University

Blue Whale vs Megalodon

A Blue Whale is much bigger than a Megalodon. A Blue Whale is approximately 30 meters long, or three times bigger than a Megalodon. A Blue Whale is also much heavier than a Megalodon, weighing approximately 200 - 300 tons.

Some people believe that the Megalodon was a real prehistoric shark, while others believe that it was a legend created by sailors who encountered very large sharks. However, we know that they did exist because researchers found Megalodon's teeth in the body of whales while it was undergoing fossilization (a chemical change preserving the teeth). Megalodons lived in warm shallow seas such as off the coast of New Zealand & Denmark however, their fossils were discovered all over the world. Megalodons were some of the largest and most dangerous predators in Earth's history and certainly the most dangerous sea creature to ever exist.

For more prehistoric and general animal facts visit the Animals section of our website.