In September, a separate group of researchers determined the true size of an adult megalodon's body, including its huge fins, based on fossils. How big was the actual monster? The 4.3-inch-long tooth was found on the Naze which is a headland on the coast of Essex. No living or dead specimen has ever been recovered. It's unlikely that the vast majority of these sharks would have been able to adapt to a major shortage in their food supply. Mace Brown Museum in Charleston confirmed the tooth as being from the Pliocene era. I thing the meg is still alive I Look it up on google it did not say any thing about the meg being still alive. Send any friend a story As a . Other theories suggest the megalodon waskilled offby an exploding star approximately 2.6 million years ago. Monday, July 12, 2021. . Is there any reason to worry about going into the water at the beach? Could this be the last remaining Megalodon? The X-rays found no evidence of growth spurts during the fishs younger years, but point instead to a steady growth rate of more than 16cm a year at least until the age of 46. The Megalodon is far more than just a movie monster, though its often compared to the famous Great White of Jaws. We should be finding fresh teeth, like we do for C megalodon's distant relative, the white shark. Did they see large sharks. At first, many thought it was a Pacific Sleeper Shark. Often, locals know about the animals, but because a biologist hasn't confirmed it the species remains officially extinct. As you mentioned in your article, the reason for extinction probably could be newer, smaller predators evolving to occupy the niche of the Meg. While there were prehistoric sharks back then, megalodon did not evolve until around 23 million years ago. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. So, was that an actual megalodon spotted off New England's coast in 2021? It, too, was an apex predator, but would it have taken on meg in the right situation? There could be a reason why Megalodon bodies haven't washed up yet - cannibalism, a scavenger at the bottom of the ocean, etc. Galloway, N.J. - Fossilized teeth and vertebrae are all that remain from the extinct Megalodon, the largest shark to have ever hunted our oceans But that was just enough for a team of paleontologists to reconstruct pieces of the prehistoric predator's life history. It may be that reproduction produces only 1-2 young or so, just enough to sustain the population, without causing an increase or decrease. There are anecdotes about giant sharks, yes. That makes the megalodon not only powerful but capable of a certain amount of precision as well. Truthfully, the answer to this question is simply common sense: NO IT IS NOT ALIVE. Also, it could have simply followed its prey, or adapted to the deep, hunting colossal squid and the sperm whale to this very day. Still, a sixty-foot shark is a really big fish. One young man from Chile who placed a camera in the Pacific Ocean captured the image of an unusually large fish and immediately reported it to authorities. I think they are still alive I don't know. Well, The movie The Meg might be fictional, It might actually have some true facts in it. Here's a comparison of the shark in the video and another sleeper shark: While the shark in the video is indeed large, it would be considered rather small if it were actually a megalodon. While certain details of the video are still unclear (such as the date it was made), the clip's descriptionmatches that of a shark filmed off the coast of Japan in 1989: In September 1989, a large female Pacific Sleeper estimated to be 23 feet (7 metres) long was filmed from the viewing ports of a submersible at a depth of 4,000 feet (1,220 metres) off Saruga Bay, Japan. The unofficial record for longest megalodon tooth found in South Carolina is reportedly 6.5 inches, just a centimeter bigger than Basak's monster. Has the appearance of a white, but, much, much bigger! As recently as 2018 a mammoth skeleton was reportedly found in Beaufort SC. The strongest biter in our world today is the saltwater crocodile, and they only come in around 3,700 pounds. The idea of this monster still existing is fascinating. Even after countless centuries, some fossilized megalodon teeth are still sharp to the touch. cryptid (author) from USA on November 22, 2017: You are welcome to try again. Led by Michael Benton, a palaeontologist at Bristol, the team used mathematical models and comparisons with living relatives to paint a picture of the prehistoric beasts. What bothers me the most about all of this is that people would rather spend time fantasizing about things that do not exist when there are all manner of fantastic and mysterious and weird things that DO exist. The center said it was the second megalodon tooth found at the Naze in 2021. . Megalodon Rising. Unfortunately, we don't have a happy ending to report - the Megalodon makes a meal out of a chunk of the whale's tail, wounding the beautiful giant. Everyone here is a goon saying that Greenland sharks are as big or that whales are going extinct because of megalodon. There are a few theories. I think the best explanation that accounts for what we know is that C megalodon is extinct and exceptionally large and rare white sharks are seen from time to time, while other species, especially the basking shark, are misidentified. Here, a megalodon tooth (left) is compared to a great white shark tooth. While meg may not have been around back then, some of its relatives were. But I think from based off the movie, That there might be a cloud and if we go up that cloud, That will allow a Megalodon to come up that warm water. The largest fish that ever lived, it's thought that megalodon gobbled up as much as . Kalan CC BY-SA 3.0. While walking, he says that he found the tooth of a Megalodon, which is an extinct species of shark that lived millions of years ago . Thats as long as a blue whale! All rights reserved. Carrie Lee Night from Northeast United States on May 10, 2020: Thank you for sharing :) Logically, I think it is extinct, however the ocean is too vast to know for sure :). It has been observed that great whites can survive for more than 2 months on whale carcasses. It even makes a cameo appearance of sorts in Spielberg's . But there are a few enormous teeth that are over 7.- The Mariana Trench is 6.83 miles deep and measures more than 1,500 miles long and 43 miles wide. A six-year-old boy has found a shark tooth belonging to a giant prehistoric megalodon that could be up to 20 million years old. Theoretically, the megalodon shark either couldnt adapt to the colder climate, the food issues, or both. Some scientists estimate that an adult megalodon could have been more than 30 feet in length. Megalodon was three times as big! The depth at that area was about 600', Shallow by ocean standards .to this day I have no clue as to what it was. More importantly, has anything like this ever happened before? Historical Biology . I could not catch my breath after snatching it up he reveals. His find was around five and a half inches and made headlines due to it being amongst the largest located in Gulf Coast waters to date. Estemennosuchus, a prehistoric animal of Russia. Encased in rock-hard enamel, teeth are more easily preserved . New research in January 2021 suggested that the ancient creatures were around 6.5 foot (2 metres) when they first left the womb. We've received your submission. For meg to still be still alive, it would have had to adapt to colder temperatures, a different breeding pattern, and greatly different food sources. It was a coastal shark, hunting offshore. If that is the case, it is possible that few Megs started diving to deeper depths away from competition. Like killer whales, the things that knocked megalodon off its perch. The now-viral video has been viewed more than 37 million times [note: the video has explicit language] since Albrecht posted it Tuesday on TikTok. "Maybe the sperm whales had some reserve of fat or there was the tongue . So, when we talk about megalodon we are looking at it from two different points of view: Paleontology and Cryptozoology. Livyatan melvillei was one contender. Mace Brown Museum in Charleston confirmed the tooth as being from the Pliocene era. The Megalodon shark grew to three times the length of today's great white shark. Also the photographers may be keeping the photos to them selves because they may care about the environment and afraid of getting them extinct. Megalodon or big tooth is a species of 20-yards-long sharks that lived between 23 and 2.6 million years ago. There has been numerous sightings of Megalodon captured on footage that I have been trying to figure out if the shark in the video is Megalodon. Others contest that the species could have be more than 80 feet long. For example the megladons may still roam around the ocean but most of the time hiding because they may be afraid because they think they are going to get hunted down. A whale fighting a Megalodon. A 50 foot shark has been found 1 mile down the marina trench. Megladon teeth are much larger than those of any living shark, including the great white, and from them, researchers have been able to determine the size, weight, and even some of the habits of the real megalodon shark. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Answer: No, the megalodon shark was not a dinosaur. 1,500 miles is also the distance between Madrid, in Spain, and Copenhagen, in Denmark.- To survive in the Mariana Trench, Megalodon would have had to adapt to the living conditions and evolve. If meg followed similar habits, perhaps it could have made the adaptations to deep-ocean life much easier than some experts suggest. This is much shorter that earlier estimates, where some researchers speculated megalodon might have been 100 feet long. we dont know whats in those places so, There has to be atleast a few megladons in the ocean somewhere. That measurement is estimated using the length of the cage, which is 10 feet across. Maybe if we start putting out monitory rewards for people providing clear images/ or any other proof. Also, I did read your article, and while it is evident that the Marina Trench is a possibility, I feel it may not be the only possibility. The meg probably evolved to be able to tolerate such pressures. By Mitchell Willetts. Good job! That's one thing that we do not need. As you mentioned in your article, the only proof of existance of the giant squid we had was the washing up of bodies on shore. Couple, Jessica and Simon Owens went looking for shark teeth on the muddy banks of the Stono River SC, southwest of the city of Charleston. About megalodon we are looking at it from two different points of:. Creatures were around 6.5 foot ( 2 metres ) when they first left the womb offby. ; Maybe the sperm whales had some reserve of fat or there was the tongue 2021.! Charleston confirmed the tooth as being from the Pliocene era on the Naze in 2021. majority of sharks... As much as been more than just a movie monster, though often. 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