THE FINS UNITED INITIATIVE
  • About TFUI
    • TFUI Origins >
      • About TFUI Founder Melissa
      • TFUI Officers
    • Take a Bite
    • Get Involved
    • FAQ
  • Bite Blog
  • Education
    • The Sharks >
      • Shark Anatomy
    • The Skates & Rays
    • The Chimaeras
    • Why Environments Matter
    • The Threats
    • Open Access >
      • Behind the Fins: Interview series
      • Bite into Research
      • Shark Bites: Book Recommendations
      • Sustainable Seafood Apps
  • Fins United
    • Shark Party Ideas
    • Little Fins Nursery
    • Big Fins Reef
  • Contact

Megalodon: the trooth

5/3/2018

 
Picture
Famed fossil hunter Vito Bertucci with a megalodon jaw, measuring 3,4 m. (11 ft.) across and almost 2,8 m. (9 ft.) in height. It took her almost 20 years to reconstruct the jaw.
A quick Google search on “megalodon” brings up around 6,890,000 results about this monster prehistoric shark. Some of these links are video or picture "evidence" that this gigantic shark (estimated to have measured around 17 metres in length -- but it's length is debated by some... see below) is still alive out there... and that just simply isn't the truth. So what do we know about this extinct animal? 
Megalodon (which means “big tooth” - fitting) is the common name for Carcharocles megalodon, an extinct relative of the sharks in the Lamnidae family. It lived in the early Miocene to the end of the Pliocene, between 23 to 2.6 million years ago. The largest tooth fossil of this animal was a massive 18 centimetres long-- and these teeth have been found nearly worldwide in fossil marine deposits! As the largest carnivorous fish to have ever lived, they actively hunted whales and many scientists believe that the Megalodon's extinct paved the way for a whale's massive size! 

The sheer size of the teeth might put you off, or maybe it's because they hunted whales... don't worry, it's extinct. It lived from about 16 million to 2.6 million years ago. And the size of the whole animal? Several scientific papers by Dr Catalina Pimiento, of the Florida Museum of Natural History, has shown that by calculating its trends in body size through time, the average size of this large predator was likely around 10 metres for most of its reign. Speaking of, can we just appreciate the fact this animal was "top dog" for about 14 million years?! Woah!

Another cool thing we know about these animals- their pups were about 2 metres in length when born and started out life in nursery areas of the eastern Pacific. In fact, these were shallow water animals-- so there is no way they are "hiding in the deep" as many say.

​GUEST BLOG POST WRITER: Joshua Rooks

Picture
Joshua Rooks loves dinosaurs. Specifically the terrestrial kind, but when wife and TFUI founder Melissa asked if he wanted to tackle the bio of Megalodon he said yes. You can find him hoarding books in his backpack as he hikes after his wife in her adventures.

Comments are closed.

    Author

    TFUI Founder Melissa C. Marquez is author of all animal bios and "Behind the Fins" segments.
    ​
    A proud #LatinainSTEM, Marquez is a marine biologist who focuses on shark habitat use and movements; she is also a science communicator (follow her on Twitter) who focuses on diverse Chondrichthyan education and who focuses on the media coverage of sharks.
    You can learn more about her on her website.

    SEE MELISSA'S TEDx TALK HERE:

    Archives

    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Subscribe to The Fins United Initiative's monthly newsletter.

    SEARCH BY CATEGORIES

    Picture
    SHARKS
    Picture
    SKATES &
    ​RAYS
    Picture
    CHIMAERA

    READER FAVORITES

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    FOLLOW ALONG ON INSTAGRAM

    @finsunitedinitiative
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • About TFUI
    • TFUI Origins >
      • About TFUI Founder Melissa
      • TFUI Officers
    • Take a Bite
    • Get Involved
    • FAQ
  • Bite Blog
  • Education
    • The Sharks >
      • Shark Anatomy
    • The Skates & Rays
    • The Chimaeras
    • Why Environments Matter
    • The Threats
    • Open Access >
      • Behind the Fins: Interview series
      • Bite into Research
      • Shark Bites: Book Recommendations
      • Sustainable Seafood Apps
  • Fins United
    • Shark Party Ideas
    • Little Fins Nursery
    • Big Fins Reef
  • Contact