Megalodon Teeth

To date, Carcharocles Megalodon (meaning “giant tooth”) is one of the largest fish on record. This article will take you down into the icy blue waters, exploring fun and interesting facts about this behemoth shark so popular that it even had a movie made about it (The Meg).

Megalodon Quick Facts

Megalodon Roamed the Seas Between 2 Million and 16 Million Years Ago

Megalodon Went Extinct Millions of Years Ago

Due to an incomplete fossil record, the exact date of the Megalodon’s extinction is difficult to pinpoint. However, fossils studied by at the University of Zurich in 2014 determined that the Megalodon fossils they examined dated back to between the Miocene Epoch to the Pliocene Epoch. In laymen terms, between 15.9 to 2.6 million years ago).

However, data shows that there is about a 1% chance that these sharks could still be alive (though most scientists balk at the possibility).

Length of Megalodons Were Between 47ft and 65ft

Big. Really, really big. That said, there is some debate amongst the scientific community as to just how big they were.

If we go off of teeth size, some scientists contend that the shark could have grown to as large as 60ft (National History Museum). Others contend that the sharks may have reached upwards of 80ft long (Encyclopedia Britannica).

Megalodon Lived All Across the Seas

Megalodons were widespread during their time, with fossils of this gigantic sea creature found on every continent except for Antarctica. The shark seemed to enjoy warm, shallow waters. As the seas of old began to dry up and the ice age took hold, it is presumed the sharks may have simply starved or frozen into extinction.

Megalodon Ate Whales and Other Large Fish

If you've ever wondered what the Megalodon Shark would eat, consider this. If the Lion is “king of the jungle”, the Megalodon was the king of the oceans. As a predator at the pinnacle at the top of the food chain, it likely fed on other large marine life such as whales, dolphins, sea cows, sea lions, and even other sharks.

Researchers have estimated that an adult shark may have needed around 1-ton of food daily in order to survive.

Megalodon Nurseries

We don’t typically think of these scary creatures as being parents to cute little megalodon toddlers, yet recent discoveries have revealed information about how, or rather where they preferred to birth and raise their spawn.

High concentrations of Megalodon teeth measuring a meager 1 ½” inches (as compared to adult teeth upwards of 7”) have been found in the Calvert Cliffs of Maryland and in the Bone Valley Region of Florida. This indicates that these areas may have been preferred nursery locations for the massive shark to birth its young.

The Megalodon's Teeth Could Reach Sizes of 7 Inches

The majority of adult Megalodon teeth are measured at 4-5”. However, some teeth have been found that range up to 7” in size (wow). To date, the largest verified Megalodon tooth was found near Ocucaie, Peru and measured at 7.48”. For comparison, the teeth of a Great White Shark are only around 1/3 that size. If that isn’t impressive (or scary) enough, the jaw of the Megalodon may have been up to 7ft in diameter!

According to research published on BBC, the shark’s 276 serrated teeth were uniquely evolved to rip and tear flesh. With a bite force estimated to measure around 24,000-40,000 pounds of pressure, this beast was a force to be reckoned with. For comparison, the estimated bite force of the T-Rex was around 12,800 pounds of pressure.

Closing Thoughts

Although we’ll never have the pleasure (or fright) of seeing one of these creatures in real life, research and discoveries have provided us with a wealth of information about these large, majestic, and feared creatures.