An Atlantic Shark Institute team was disappointed yesterday when what seemed to be a massive megalodon shark was only a large school of mackerel. The team said on social media they hoped the image they saw on the scanner was the extinct megalodon, but they must remain satisfied with fossil discoveries for now.
Megalodons are prehistoric predatory fish that are believed to be big enough to eat a whale, according to reports. Newsweek reported the megalodon's mouth opened to 11 feet wide and was lined with as many as 276 teeth. That makes megalodon fossil discoveries somewhat common, as the prehistoric predators lost a set of teeth every fortnight, equaling 40,000 teeth in its lifetime.
Although Megalodon teeth are frequently discovered, a full megalodon jaw has never been discovered. Saltwater breaks down cartilage, so all megalodon jaws have likely dissolved.
1909
Paleontologists estimated the size of the monstrous jaw by using the fossilized teeth. Bashford Dean reconstructed the first megalodon jaw at the American Museum of Natural History in 1909 according to Dutch Shark Society, but it is believed Dean overestimated the thickness of the cartilage, making the model taller than reality.
1992
In 1992, the Smithsonian Institute had a set of megalodon jaw replicas constructed by paleontologist John Maisey. The replicas include a nearly complete set of fossilized megalodon teeth found in North Carolina.
2020
A study by the University of Bristol reported that the teeth can be larger than a human hand. The study found the Megalodon could have stretched up to more than 50 feet in length with a dorsal fin that was taller than an adult human.
Paleontologist Jack Cooper and a team of researchers used the isolated teeth fossil discoveries to estimate the true breadth of the megalodon. Their findings were published in Scientific Reports in 2020. The project was supervised by Dr. Catalina Pimiento. The study found the giant prehistoric shark is not a direct ancestor of only the great white shark, as previously believed.
"Megalodon is not a direct ancestor of the great white but is equally related to other macropredatory sharks such as the Makos, Salmon shark and Porbeagle shark, as well as the great white," Pimiento said in the study. "We pooled detailed measurements of all five to make predictions about megalodon."
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Fox News reported in 2020 that several megalodon nurseries were discovered in Spain. Reports show that many fossils from young and adult megalodons were unearthed. A study by The Royal Society reported as many as five megalodon nurseries have been found in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific basins. The fossils were from as long as 16 million years ago, with the most recent fossils being from around 3 million years ago when the shark went extinct.
The nurseries were home to fossils from megalodons as young as 1 month old, at approximately 16 feet in length, to adolescent megalodons that stretched over 30 feet in length. Researchers anticipate the megalodon could be twice to three times the size of a great white shark. A great white shark can be more than 20 feet long.
2022
Just last month, Newsweek reported a North Carolina fossil hunter found several teeth from the megalodon. The teeth were 5.5 inches and 6 inches long. Megalodon teeth can be up to 7 inches in length, but many fossil finds range from 3 to 5 inches long, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. Dutch Shark Society reports the largest megalodon tooth discovered was nearly 7.5 inches in length and was found in Peru. Only 1 percent of megalodon fossilized teeth are more than 6 inches long.
The megalodon could have gone extinct for a variety of reasons and experts disagree on what eliminated the species, Newsweek reported earlier this year. One theory is the species was succeeded by the great white shark. Other theories are that sea level changes could have reduced the shark's habitat.
Newsweek reached out to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for comment.
