What Did The Megalodon Shark Eat?
The Megalodon was the largest ever shark on Earth. Some of the fossils of the earliest Megalodons date back to 20 million years ago. These sharks dominated the oceans for the next 13 million years and became extinct 3.6 million years ago. However, domination doesn’t mean the 60-foot shark would eat anything that came its way. Keep reading to learn the mystery behind the eating habits of the Megalodon shark.
What Did They Eat?
A full-size Megalodon shark could extend to as much as 60 feet. Its humongous size allowed it to eat some of the largest mammals, such as dolphins, dugongs, sea lions, large fish, turtles, and even whales. However, not all Megalodon sharks could eat such big mammals. The smaller ones relied on smaller prey like big fishes and turtles. But imagine eating a big whale! That is proof of how big the Megalodon shark was.
Various pictures of fossils of large mammals show bite marks of Megalodon sharks. Many of them also have feeding damages that match the size of a Megalodon’s teeth. Paleontologists say that the fossil locations of Megalodon shark teeth are usually available near marine mammal fossils.
Megalodon’s Jaws and Mouth
The Megalodon shark had to open its mouth as wide as possible if it were trying to tackle a whale. Various estimations according to the fossil remains of Megalodon sharks show that the jaw could open from 2.7 to 3.4 meters wide. That’s big enough to swallow two big adult human beings side-by-side.
Megalodon Bite
Their jaws had 276 teeth. Studies from different paleontologists suggest that the Megalodon shark’s bite was one of the most powerful forces that ever existed.
Bite Force
Here’s a quick comparison of the average bite force of humans, white sharks, and Megalodon sharks that will tell you the magnanimous difference from the ordinary to the extraordinary:
• Humans have a bite force of approximately 1,317 Newtons.
• White sharks have a bite force of 18,216 Newtons.
• Researchers assume that the Megalodon sharks had a bite force ranging from 108,514 to 182,201 Newtons. That’s almost a hundred times more than white sharks.
How Much Did Megalodon Need to Eat?
Many researchers and paleontologists also believe that adult Megalodon sharks ate up to 2500 pounds of food every day. It’s almost the same as eating one and a half-full-sized cows.
Megalodon Teeth
Although there are remains of broken teeth from Megalodon sharks (we also carry complete megalodon teeth for sale), researchers say they could replace their teeth within a few days. It was not uncommon for these sharks to break their teeth, especially while tackling whales. The fossil remains show that the sharks have nearly 4 to 5 rows of teeth that looked like conveyor belts. A Megalodon shark could replace its broken teeth within 48 hours.
In addition to being one of the most powerful mammals, the Megalodon shark was also quite intelligent. It always had different strategies to attack and kill its prey. In most cases, it would attack its prey from underneath. This would catch the prey off guard, and one attack was enough to control the prey.
Humans are fortunate that the Megalodon shark is now extinct. Otherwise, nobody might have the courage to swim in the ocean knowing that such a creature exists.
