A jumbo apex predator.
The biggest shark that ever lived.
It might be long extinct, but scientists (and Hollywood) are fascinated by the absolute unit.
The model also estimated its stomach volume (massive) and its caloric requirements (also massive).
Anexplanatory videocovers how scientists worked out this new information on megalodon.
Megalodon is a mysterious animal thanks to the sketchy fossil record.
Teeth have remained behind, but the cartilage-based skeletons broke down and disappeared.
Astudy from early 2022highlighted how little we know about what the giants might’ve really looked like.
Most illustrations we see tend to go for the jumbo-great-white-shark look.
The animal had lived in the region of Belgium and died about 18 million years ago.
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The team combined scans and measurements of the 141 vertebrae with data on megalodon teeth.
The skull and flesh of the body was modeled after a great white shark.
“Weight is one of the most important traits of any animal.
Megalodon was already known to have snacked on whales, a good source of calories thanks to the blubber.
The study highlights how the shark was a beast, a “transoceanic superpredator.”
It would have made Jaws look like a guppy.
