Place: Worldwide.
Length: 52-72 feet (15.7-21.8 meters).
Diet: Carnivore.
This is largest species of shark that ever lived, and my favorite prehistoric shark!
Description:
Otodus megalodon (O. megalodon, or commonly known as "Megalodon") was the largest species of shark that had ever existed (Hall, 2019, "Anatomy": "A Big Shark" p. 1). At best, it lived during the Miocene (Pimiento et al., 2016, "Abstract": "Location") (Boessenecker et al., 2019, "Abstract"), and its maximum size was up to 52-72 feet long (15.7-21.8 meters). This animal has had many names: Carcharodon megalodon (Nyberg et al., 2006, "Abstract"), Carcharocles megalodon (Pimiento et al., 2016, "Abstract"), and now Otodus megalodon (Boessenecker et al., 2019, "Abstract"). To the general public, it's known simply as "Megalodon." This shark lived worldwide (Hideo et al., 2004, "Abstract") (Pimiento et al., 2016, "Abstract": "Location").
O. megalodon was closely related to the Whale Shark, not the Great White (Hall, 2019, "Anatomy": "A Big Shark" p. 2). O. megalodon didn't look like a Great White either (Davis, "What did megalodon look like?" p. 1-3). It had "a much shorter nose, or rostrum, when compared with the great white, with a flatter, almost squashed jaw. Like the blue shark, it also had extra-long pectoral fins to support its weight and size," (Davis, "What did megalodon look like?" p. 2).
Prey and Enemies:
O. megalodon co-existed with prehistoric whales. One species of whale it hunted was a baleen whale called Cetotherium (Gol'Din et al., 2014). However, O. megalodon's main source of prey, and enemy, is the larger prehistoric sperm whale known as Livyatan. It was 49-60 feet long (15.0-18.4 meters).
O. megalodon Hunting (?)Cetotherium:
Scientists say that O. megalodon became extinct due to the appearance, and competition, of the smaller Great White Shark (Boessenecker et al., 2019, "Abstract") (Gander, 2019) (Davis, "What did megalodon look like?" p. 5). Smaller sharks need less food to survive, but larger sharks need more. The competition from the great white seems to have caused O. megalodon to die out from starvation.
Links:
Size:
https://psdinosaurs.blogspot.com/2019/07/size-calculations-for-megalodon.html
Hall (2019) ("Anatomy": "A Big Shark" p. 1):
https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/megalodon
Time:
Boessenecker et al., (2019) ("Abstract"):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6377595/
Link 2:
https://peerj.com/articles/6088/
Pimiento et al., (2016) ("Abstract": "Location"):
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jbi.12754
International Chronostratigraphic Chart (2020):
https://stratigraphy.org/timescale/International Commission of Stratigraphy Website:
https://stratigraphy.org/news/130
Location:
Pimiento et al., (2016) ("Abstract": "Location"):
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jbi.12754
Hideo et al., (2004) ("Abstract"):
https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110007574397/en
Naming:
Boessenecker et al., (2019) ("Abstract"):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6377595/
Link 2:
https://peerj.com/articles/6088/
Pimiento et al., (2016) ("Abstract"):
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jbi.12754
Nyberg et al., (2006) ("Abstract"):
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1671/0272-4634%282006%2926%5B806%3ATTAOTG%5D2.0.CO%3B2
Description:
Davis ("What did megalodon look like?"):
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/megalodon--the-truth-about-the-largest-shark-that-ever-lived.html
Prey:
Cetotherium:
Gol'Din et al., (2014):
https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app59/app20120107.pdf
Picture:
https://www.earthtouchnews.com/discoveries/fossils/bite-marks-provide-clues-to-megalodons-diet-and-extinction/
Livyathan:
https://psdinosaurs.blogspot.com/2019/08/size-calculations-for-livyathan.html
Extinction:
Gander (2019):
https://www.newsweek.com/megalodon-world-biggest-shark-extinct-great-white-1331115
Boessenecker et al., (2019) ("Abstract"):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6377595/
Link 2:
https://peerj.com/articles/6088/
Davis ("What did megalodon look like?" p. 5):
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/megalodon--the-truth-about-the-largest-shark-that-ever-lived.html
