With such a large body size, the megalodon required ample prey to fuel its body. Scientists have discovered megalodon nursery habitats in Panama, Maryland, the Canary Islands, and Florida. These locations provided the shark pups with plenty of fish and a safe environment to grow, away from the larger predators of the open ocean and offshore zones. Like the modern-day bull shark, megalodons gave birth in specific nursery habitats that included protected bays and estuaries. Conversely, they likely rammed smaller prey with their snouts to stun them before biting it. It is believed that larger prey, like small whales, were struck in the chest, the robust megalodon teeth able to puncture through their tough ribs. It is through these tooth marks that scientists are able to determine a megalodon’s feeding behavior. The most northern fossils are found off the coast of Denmark and the most southern in New Zealand. While juveniles kept to the shores, adults preferred coastal areas but could move into the open ocean. The megalodon lived in most regions of the ocean (except near the poles). Modern scientific studies have shown that megalodon was more closely related to an ancestor of mako sharks-smaller but faster fish-eating sharks. In fact, the two species likely even lived at the same time. This lineage can be traced back to the Cretaceous Period.įor a long time, scientists believed the megalodon’s closest relative was the great white shark. The megalodon is a member of the lineage of lamnoid sharks (Lamniformes), which also include the great white, mako and thresher sharks, among others. Even the earliest member of this lineage was already longer than a great white shark. The lineage leading to the megalodon first appeared about 60 million years ago. By the Carboniferous and Permian periods, sharks of all kinds roamed the world’s seas. Trilobites, creatures distantly related to spiders and horseshoe crabs, scurried across the seafloor while shelled cephalopods, relatives of squid and octopus, reigned as the top predators above in the water column. The ocean was a very different landscape, with most creatures lacking a backbone. Sharks first appear in the fossil record roughly 420 million years ago, a time when fishes began to evolve. Due to the lack of cartilage fossils, megalodon size estimates are based upon known relationships between tooth size and shark body length. Female megalodons were, on average larger, at about 44 to 56 feet (13-17 m) and males were about 34 to 47 feet (10-14 m). The largest were roughly 60 feet in length and attained perhaps up to 50 tons, the size and weight of a railroad car. They are especially large-some reach over 7 inches (18 cm) in vertical height. Megalodon teeth are no different, and their teeth can be found scattered on coastal beaches or just offshore. A shark can lose and replace thousands of teeth in its lifetime. Unlike people, who have a limited number of teeth in their lifetime, sharks constantly shed their teeth and replace them with new ones. Modern research shows that the megalodon is most closely related to mako sharks, not to the Great White.Įvery shark, including the megalodon, has several rows of teeth lining its jaw. The proposed shape of a megalodon is therefore based on the anatomy of living sharks. Much lighter than bone, cartilage allows sharks to stay afloat and swim long distances while using less energy. It is also very difficult for cartilage to fossilize, so much of what we know about megalodons comes from their teeth, vertebrae (which contain calcium and therefore are preserved), and fossilized poop. This is a defining feature of elasmobranchs, as most fish have skeletons made of bone. Like other elasmobranchs (a group of fishes that includes sharks, rays, and skates), megalodons have skeletons mostly made of cartilage-the hard but flexible material that is found in human noses and ears. Their tailfin undulated side to side and they breathed through gill slits on either side of their head. Like other sharks, they had streamlined yet powerful bodies built to efficiently cut through the water. The megalodon is the largest shark to have ever lived in the world’s ocean.
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