The biggest, the worst shark that has ever traveled around the ocean may have been even greater than it has been thought so far, according to a new study.
The study, published on Sunday, in Palaeontologia Electronica, suggests that the megalodone, which dominated the ocean 3.5 million years ago, was more than three times larger than a large white shark.
The monstrous shark, depicted in the movie for science fiction horrors in 2018, The Meg, previously thought to be between 50 and 65 feet long. But the new study, conducted by researchers in 28 countries, found that megalodone could reach a huge length of 80 feet, approximately the size of two school buses.
The study helps to confirm the hypothesis that megalodone was not just a “giant version of the modern big white shark”, as previously thought, said Philip Sternes, a teacher at Seaworld San Diego and a project researcher. Instead, the shark could have closer cousins today.
Jose Correa of Houston rests his head while waiting for a fork lifting to push megalodon on the spot at the bricker multifunctional building in Ohio Expo on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.
It also sheds light on the mystery surrounding how fearsome carnivores could have disappeared millions of years ago – and the role of a smaller big white shark.
How big was megalodone?
Scientists have long been struggling to determine the size of the megalodon, since no complete fossil of the missing animal has been found. Past studies have evaluated the length and shape of the megalodone body, comparing it to the large white shark that has similar large, serrated teeth.
But sterns said these studies rely on assumptions about similarities only between the two sharks.
The new study compares megalodone fossils with more than 150 alive and extinct species of sharks. He found that the megalodone may have had a longer, more extensive body, resembling that of the modern lemon shark, not the big white one. It could vary between about 54 feet and a length of 80 feet, the study suggests.
Terrenece Evans of Kenner, La., Left, facilitates the movement of a megalodon jaw reply with a crew member who has demanded not to be identified for the upcoming Jurassic Quest dinosaur exhibit at the Prime F. OSBOR conventional center
And this longer length is not just a fun fact for fearsome creatures. It can also draw a more clear picture of the way megalodons moved through the water.
Kenshu Shimada, a professor of paleobiology at DEPAUL University in Chicago, who led the study, said the findings of perhaps the scandalous body of Megalodon are aligned with what scientists already know about other giant water animals: the thinner bodies allow long animals to swim more effectively.
If the megalodone was a similar shape and size of the modern large white shark, this body -shaped body would not allow an effective swimmer to catch the prey and survive, Shimada explained.
So, what killed Megalodona?
Little is known about how and why Megalodon disappeared about 3 million years ago. But the study said that the big white shark could have something to do with it.
The recording of the fossils and the “outbreak of growth” suggests that the rise of the great white shark and the competition it brought in fact helped until the death of megalodon, the study said.
Megalodone teeth can measure a length of 6 inches.
Researchers are still examining the evolution of megalodon, but Shcherns told the USA Today, one of them is the large body of the predator not as adaptive as the smaller species of sharks, even if he can swim freely.
“We learned about how the planet hesitates with various environmental factors, how life responds to it,” he said. “Understanding the past can better inform us about the present and the future for life on Earth.”
This article originally appeared in USA Today: Scientists unlock mystery around Monster Shark Megalodon