Megalodon: Largest shark that ever lived

A super-shark that swam in the oceans 2.6 million years ago, megalodon was three times bigger than the largest great white, making the prehistoric fish one of the most fearsome predators of all time

SIZE COMPARISON 

Megalodon likely had shorter nose and flatter jaw than great white

Diver

Great white shark
(Carcharodon carcharias)
Length: 6 metres*
Weight: 2.3 tonnes (Est.)

Megalodon
(Carcharocles megalodon)
15-18m (Est.)
100 tonnes (Est.)

*Largest white shark measured reliably is specimen from Ledge Point, Western Australia, caught in 1984

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TEETH: Without complete skeleton, megalodon’s estimated size is based on teeth, which can reach 18cm long.
Word megalodon means “large tooth”

Megalodon tooth next to tooth of great white shark

FOOD: Fossilised whale bones found with cut marks of megalodon teeth – some even having tips of teeth broken off – are evidence that pre-historic shark would have eaten animals as large as humpback whales

BITE: Using high-resolution digital models, scientists showed megalodon had most powerful bite of all time†

Megalodon: 10.8-18.2 tonnes
T-rex: 3 tonnes 
Great white: 1.8 tonnes
Lion: 560kg 
Human: 80kg
†2008 study by Stephen Wroe from University of New South Wales

Reconstruction of megalodon jaws

JAW: Lined with 276 teeth, megalodon jaws spanned 2.7 by 3.4 metres wide – enough to swallow two adult people side-by-side



Pictures: AP, Getty Images Sources: Journal of Zoology, Natural History Museum of London
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