Five million years ago, giant sharks ruled the oceans. Their huge teeth, often found in sediments off the coast, resemble large shells. This eventually gave them their name: big teeth.
Even today, the shape as well as the size of these giant sea creatures are the subject of scientific debate. Because sharks’ skeletons are made up mostly of cartilage, which is rarely fossilized, scientists don’t know anything about this huge fish. However, they make assumptions based on the size of their teeth and comparisons with their modern relatives such as great whites and hammerhead sharks. Thus, according to their estimates, the large teeth had a length of 10.6 to 18.2 m.
A new 3D model of a megalodon published in review of scientific achievementsindicates that the shark was larger, faster, and dominated a much wider area than previously thought.
It dominated a much wider area than previously thought and could easily swallow a killer whale.
In 2014, Dr Catalina Pimiento, a paleontologist at Swansea University in Wales, met John Hutchinson, an anatomist at the Royal Veterinary College London who specializes in creating 3D models of extinct species. They built a 3D model of the megatooth based on CT scans of a preserved spine found in 1860 and held at the Royal Institute of Natural History in Belgium, as well as teeth and body scans of a great white shark, its closest living relative.
According to the model, the megalodon was 16 m long and weighed 67 tons, which is equal to a whale shark, while some could be much larger. In addition, the opening of his jaws was such that he could easily swallow a killer whale in five bites.
According to other calculations, the big teeth could move at a speed of about 4.8 km per hour, which is much faster than in 33 other shark species studied. Today, the Pacific shark is considered the fastest shark, which moves at a speed of 3.2 km per hour. Since the great white shark can travel 11,200 km non-stop to take advantage of the seasonal increase in prey, the megatooth could obviously have achieved much more.
Fossils found in Peru indicate that megalodons fed on seals, but it is estimated that they needed a particularly high-calorie diet, just like whales.
Source: Kathimerini
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