10 Gargantuan Details Surrounding Megalodon, The Prehistoric Shark Ten Times Larger Than A T-Rex

6 /10 Prey Of Choice

Considering the size and strong teeth as weapons, megalodon most likely preyed on large fish, such as whales and perhaps other sharks.

Megalodon had to eat a lot to maintain its size, so it probably ate some smaller fish such as dolphins in addition to larger prey.

Many of the fossilized whale bones discovered so far show evidence of megalodon bite marks or teeth marks etched on the surface.

Some bones even still have tips of megalodon teeth planted into them. The recommendations likely broke off during a feeding frenzy millions of years ago.

5 /10 Whale-Crushing Jaw

To take on prey as large as a whale, a megalodon needed to open its mouth wide.

Based on the size and number of teeth, it is estimated that the jaw could span anywhere nine by 11 feet wide, easily large enough opening for two adult people to fit inside.

And with so many large individual teeth inside the jaw, reconstruction of the mouth of a megalodon has shown it had a bite force of between 108,514 and 182,201N – about five times more potent than a T-rex.

4 /10 Widespread Habitat

Megalodon teeth have been discovered on every continent except Antarctica, suggesting that the colossal shark roamed across a wide range of waters all across the world.

In the United States, the teeth have been found at the bottom of saltwater rivers in Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

The fossils are pretty common in parts of Australia as well as along the off coast of Morocco.

Although relatively rare in the U.K., some specimens have been found near Walton-on-the-Naze, a small town in Essex, although the fossils tend to be of poor quality from this region.

3 /10 Never-Ending Teeth

Sharks constantly grow new teeth throughout their entire life, and so did megalodon.

On average, sharks lose a pair of teeth every two weeks or so. Every bite onto prey could cost megalodon a few teeth or more, but soon some new teeth would replace the missing ones.

A robust and struggling game increased the likelihood of more than a few megalodon teeth falling to the bottom of the ocean, which is why the fossilized specimens are unusually common.

However, a megalodon fossil found in Peru still has the braincase and a small section of vertebrae.

2 /10 Extinction

However, precisely when the last megalodon died is unknown. It has been established that megalodon went extinct around 2.6 million years ago by the end of the Pliocene period.

During that period, the world entered a global cooling that triggered the extinction of up to a third of marine animals, including many sea birds and turtles.

Animals at the bottom of the food chain could not survive, starting a knock-on effect to larger predators.

A gradual drop in temperature also caused the megalodon, adapted and dependent on tropical waters, to lose much of its habitat.

1 /10 No More Megalodon

Despite what the Discovery Channel said in the past, megalodon couldn’t possibly exist in today’s marine ecosystem. An animal as large as a megalodon cannot just stay hidden in a world.

Marine biologists conducting experiments anywhere would have known about its existence.

Some may argue megalodon can be in the ocean’s depth, but this too is incorrect because they will not survive the low temperature, a condition that sent them to extinction to begin with.

Anybody who says megalodon still exists most likely tells a story from a fictional book.