Sharks, unlike other fish, don't have bones, so no megalodon shark 'skeleton' has ever been found. Megalodons succumbed to global cooling due to the shrinking of their habitat, the vanishing of their favorite prey, and competition from other predators 3.5 million years ago.
First, the climate dramatically changed. Global water temperature dropped; that reduced the area where megalodon, a warm-water shark, could thrive. Second, because of the changing climate, entire species that megalodon preyed upon vanished forever.
We know that megalodon had become extinct by the end of the Pliocene (2.6 million years ago), when the planet entered a phase of global cooling. Precisely when the last megalodon died is not known, but new evidence suggests that it was at least 3.6 million years ago.
He has spent years studying the megalodon — and says they are most definitely extinct. "Any suggestion that megalodon potentially still exists in unexplored ocean regions is complete nonsense based on not a shred of credible evidence," he told Live Science in an email.
Megalodon, the biggest shark that ever lived, may have been killed off thanks to the success of the great white, new research suggests. A study of elemental traces in their teeth implies the huge sea monster faced competition for resources from its smaller and more nimble rival, say scientists.
The Megalodon weighs in at upwards of 50-70 tons, measuring a span of up to 60-70 feet in length. By contrast, the Blue Whale tips the scale at around 100-110 tons and tops lengths of up to 100 feet. Who Wins on Size? It's pretty obvious that the Blue Whale is the bigger apex predator in this fight.
The short answer is no. And here's why: Megalodons were warm-water creatures. In fact, paleontologists believe a cooling period that froze the ocean in areas where megalodon pups matured may have been the primary reason for their demise.
The answer to the megalodon question is a resounding NO. Megalodon went extinct around 3.5 million years ago.
The megalodon was one of the largest predators that ever lived up until its extinction 3.6 million years ago, according to the Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom. Researchers believe it grew to between 50 and 60 feet long.
The largest shark alive is a whale shark, according to the Smithsonian. It is also considered the largest fish in the world, says the Natural History Museum. Whale sharks can reach 60 feet in length, says Smithsonian, and on average, these fish weigh 20.6 tons, according to livescience.com.
Megalodon, the biggest shark that ever lived, may have been killed off thanks to the success of the great white, new research suggests. A study of elemental traces in their teeth implies the huge sea monster faced competition for resources from its smaller and more nimble rival, say scientists.
Mature megalodons likely did not have any predators, but newly birthed and juvenile individuals may have been vulnerable to other large predatory sharks, such as great hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna mokarran), whose ranges and nurseries are thought to have overlapped with those of megalodon from the end of the Miocene and ...
No real-life Dunkleosteus was ever as large as the in-game Big Daddy; the largest Dunkleosteus reached 4 meters, with a Megalodon being between 15 and 18 meters (or even 25 meters). Though older outdated estimates put them at the size of a Great White Shark.
Megalodon teeth are relatively common fossils in many locations. The reasons for this is that the Megalodon (and other sharks) shed their teeth during their lifetime or as they grew. An adult Megalodon likely would shed several thousands teeth during its lifetime. Teeth also tend to fossilize pretty easily.
Fossil evidence shows that the Megalodon primarily fed on large marine mammals including whales, dolphins, sea lions, dugongs (sea cows), as well as sea turtles and large fish.
Although Megalodon teeth are frequently discovered, a full megalodon jaw has never been discovered.
The second biggest shark in the world is the basking shark
While they don't get quite as large as whale sharks, the largest one ever reliably measured was 12.27 metres or just over 40 feet long. This is enough to net them the title of the world's second-largest shark.
Researchers studying sharks in the northwest Atlantic Ocean were shocked after they detected what appeared to be a massive 50-foot “megalodon” on sea scanners below their boat.
So, it's not currently scientifically possible to bring back a dinosaur. I do think that the tools over the next 20 years could get us to the point where you could engineer species with dinosaur-like traits.
1. Extinct Species: Pyrenean Ibex. The Pyrenean ibex is possibly the only extinct animal that has successfully been brought back to life — though it only lasted for a few minutes. The last of the animals died out in 2000, but three years later scientists used its frozen cells to clone a calf.
It's known as the megalodon, believed to be the largest shark species to ever exist. Evidence in the teeth and bite marks found on fossilized bones suggest these ancient sharks were swimming the ocean between 23 million and 3.5 million years ago.
There is a huge variation in price depending on many factors including size, quality, where they were collected, etc. While a small or low quality tooth might cost less than $50, large, collector-quality teeth can quickly run into the thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars.
What Did They Eat? A full-size Megalodon shark could extend to as much as 60 feet. Its humongous size allowed it to eat some of the largest mammals, such as dolphins, dugongs, sea lions, large fish, turtles, and even whales. However, not all Megalodon sharks could eat such big mammals.
First of all, blue whales are significantly larger than megalodons. The largest blue whale ever weighed 418,878 pounds (more than 200 tons) while average blue whales weigh more than 100 tons. In addition, megalodons were sexually dimorphic, which means the females were significantly larger than males.