| “ | Living out there, there's something terrifying. The most lethal shark that the world has ever seen. A giant, 70-foot prehistoric shark... called Megalodon, the biggest carnivorous fish that's ever lived. | „ |
| — Allen Johnson, about Megalodon in Into the Mega Jaws of Death | ||
Megalodon (name meaning "Big Tooth"), or simply the Meg for short, is a genus of enormous prehistoric mackerel shark that originated during the Early Miocene epoch in every ocean on Earth. Measuring 23 meters long, weighing over 70 tons, and famous for its massive jaws, large teeth, and relation to the great white shark, Megalodon was the largest shark, as well as carnivorous animal, of all time.
In the Series 3 episode "Into the Mega Jaws of Death," a pregnant female Megalodon named Meg was brought to the park from Middle Miocene Peru 15 million years ago. She reside in the Marine Enclosure. She eventually gave birth to two pups which where moved to seperate enclosures.
Facts[]
Era & Discovery[]
Megalodon first appeared during the Early Miocene around 23 million years ago and lived through to the Early Pleistocene, around 2 million years ago. The apex predator of the seas during its day, these sharks dominated every ocean on the planet for over 20 million years, earning the title of undisputed "Lord and Master of the Sea". Having shared its environment with many other marine animals at the time, Megalodon hunted a range of giants, such as whales, giant squid, and other large sharks. Their extinction was caused by Ice Age climate changes. As the Ice Age began, the whale's Megalodon preyed on migrated to colder waters, where the shark could not follow. As a result, Megalodon was doomed into extinction by hunger.
Megalodon was first discovered by Louis Agassiz in 1835. Since then, fossilized teeth of Megalodon have been found around the world. From their distribution, it is possible to see that Megalodon preferred tropical and temperate seas, and did not stray into cold waters. It could, however, live many kilometers from the coast in the open ocean. Other than its teeth, few parts of its body are known. However, some paleontologists and other scientists believe that Megalodon could still be alive today in the 21st century, surviving in the deepest waters. Additionally, Megalodon has also become some of the most famous prehistoric creatures in the world.
Physical Description[]
The largest predatory fish ever discovered, Megalodon was also the largest shark ever to roam the seas, larger than a whale shark as well as rivaling, if not surpassing, the size of theropod dinosaurs like Spinosaurus, Giganotosaurus, and even Tyrannosaurus as well as other giant sea monsters, such as Livyatan, Pliosaurs, and even Mosasaurs. On average, Megalodon measured over 50 – 60 feet (15 – 18 m) long and weighed more than 50 – 60 tons (100,000 – 120,000 lb). However, some rare colossal specimens have been discovered to have grown between 70 – 100 feet (21 – 30 m) in length and weighed as much as 70 – 150 tons (154,000 – 330,000 lb). This makes Megalodon the largest carnivorous animal that had ever existed.
Megalodon Jaws
Megalodon were basically gigantic great white sharks, therefore being an ancestor to the great white. As such, they had the same overall physical appearance; a streamlined, muscular body with a 6 – 8 ft (2 – 2.5 m) tall dorsal fin, large pectoral fins, and a large and powerful caudal fin but its anal fins were small; hard ferrous gray colored skin on top and creamy, ghostly white on the bottom (most likely to serve as camouflage), only Megalodon was well over three to five times the size. By the time an adolescent Megalodon reached three years of age, they could have measured just over 20 feet (6.1 m) long and weighed at least 2.5 tons (5,000 lb), the size of many great white sharks today. Full-grown Megalodon grew over 20 times the weight of juveniles.
Megalodon was an immensely powerful predator, capable of making high-speed attack runs. Like all sharks, Megalodon swam in a side-to-side motion. Despite its colossal size and robust appearance, Megalodon was also a very fast swimmer, capable of reaching speeds as fast as 15 – 34 mph (13 – 30 knots) and moving over a fairly long distance. Its mouth could open to around 8 – 11 feet (2.7 – 3.4 m) wide, revealing a set of giant, sharp, serrated teeth measuring 5 – 9 inches (12.7 – 22.86 cm) long within a pair of massive jaws could deliver a crippling bite. Megalodon is estimated to have a massively powerful bite force of around 20 tons (44,000 lb) psi, more than powerful enough to slice, bite, and cut through the toughest flesh and bone. In other words, Megalodon had the most powerful bite force in all of the animal kingdom.
Behavior & Traits[]
Megalodon were solitary animals as they were large enough to hunt game independently. As essentially giant great white sharks, Megalodon behaved the same way. For instance, much like young great whites, juvenile Megalodon preferred to live in shallow waters closer to shore and away from adults, who hunted large prey in the open oceans. While it was partially for their own safety, they also fed on different and smaller species of prey. Megalodon juveniles were not large enough to attack the large whales. Their teeth are usually found in shallow waters, suggesting that they lived inshore. There, they mainly hunted large fish and smaller marine mammals, such as Odobenocetops. A fully grown Megalodon would hunt larger whales, even ones the size of a blue whale. Megalodon preyed on the dolphins and large whales that lived in deep offshore waters. It would cruise around, waiting for one of them to surface.
But whether juveniles or adults, Megalodon had the same hunting strategies as modern great white sharks. Once they locked onto their prey, because they didn't want their prey to attack them back, these giant and powerful sharks would come up from underneath their prey, swimming vertically upwards at speed. At the last moment, the giant jaws would open and the teeth would be rammed into the prey, tearing out large chunks of its flesh and landing devastating attacks. As relatives of great white sharks, the juvenile Megalodon, therefore, attacked their prey in an identical way. However, when adult Megalodon hunted, they swam bellow further into the deep, dark oceans in order for them to gain more momentum. Once done, they swam incredibly fast directly towards the surface to their prey and struck with intensely powerful force. On its initial attack run, Megalodon would probably go for vulnerable parts of the body, such as the flippers and tail. This would immediately cripple their prey so that it couldn't swim away or dive downwards. Megalodon's teeth would often fall out during these attacks, but new ones would grow in their place.
A special adaptation that Megalodon evolved was a protective membrane which was located at the back of its eyes. When attacking its prey, it would roll its eyes to reveal the membrane. The sight would not be necessary for an attack as its sense of smell would steer it towards its prey. Megalodon's sense of smell was incredibly powerful, they could detect blood from miles away. Megalodon was a species of shark that evolved to literally attack and prey upon living whales, even very large ones. No matter the size or the species of whale, Megalodon was a whale killer.
Prehistoric Earth: A Natural History[]
Series 3[]
Megalodon made its debut in Into the Mega Jaws of Death when Allen, Rebecca, and company traveled back in time 15 million years ago to Peru, South America during the Middle Miocene epoch. Before risking a dive with an adult Megalodon, they wanted to start with juveniles. Allen and Rebecca dove into shallow waters, first encountering a 6 m (20 ft) juvenile Megalodon when it swam above the pair and an Odobenocetops who was foraging for oysters in some kelp. By taking cover in the foliage, they were able to avoid being caught by the shark. Later, Allen, Rebecca, and the crew crafted a model Odobenocetops and filled it with squid to entice an adolescent Megalodon. With the camera fitted into the model, it was able to capture the moment when an adolescent Megalodon accelerated from the depths and tore the model apart.
Series 4[]
Journal Entry[]
| “ | - Name: Carcharodon Megalodon - Name Meaning: "Jagged Big Tooth" - Species: Prehistoric Shark - Family: Lamnidae - Length: 23 m (75.45 ft) - Weight: 53 t (116,845 lb) - Diet: Carnivore - Time: Early Miocene to Early Pleistocene, 23 – 2 MYA - Region: Worldwide - Discovered: 1667
Armed with 9-inch long, triangular-shaped serrated teeth in its 11 foot wide mouth, Megalodon possessed the most powerful bite force in the animal kingdom, exceeding that of Tyrannosaurus. Despite its enormous size, Megalodon was relatively fast, able to move at speeds of around 50 mph. All these attributes make Megalodon not only the largest shark of all time, but also by far the largest and most powerful carnivorous animal the world has ever seen. The unequalled apex predator of its time, Megalodon roamed every ocean on Earth for over 20 million years and had nothing to fear, having no rivals or natural predators during its time, save for only larger Megalodon. If Jaws was the Devil, The Meg is death with a wide open mouth. Thought to have gone extinct during the Ice Age, some scientists believe Megalodon could still be alive today, living in the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean. |
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| — Allen, in his journal, about Megalodon | ||
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Megalodon is the largest shark brought to the park and the last prehistoric sea creature brought back.