Otodus megalodon also known as Megalodon shark or Big Mouth shark belongs to a group of Mackerel sharks – the family Lamnidae. According to the fossils records, the sharks are known to live from about 20 to 23 million years ago and had gone extinct about 3.6 million years back. The fossil remains of apex predators depicted that they live at extreme depths as well as along the continental shelf or coastline of shallow water of the temperate and tropical zones.
Megalodon shark is known as one of the most powerful and most prominent species of shark ever to live in ocean waters. If is it so then how big they are? Do you want to know? Let’s take a deep analysis of their fossil records to determine the size of the Megalodon shark.
How Big Was Megalodon Shark?
Megalodon sharks are known to be the largest species of sharks that had ruled the ocean world for many years. According to the fossil’s records, the average size of the Megalodon Shark is about 33.5 feet or 10.2 meters. Some specimens depicted that they can grow to the length of 58.7 feet or 17.9 meters. But the analysis did not end here. After a few years, the researchers found the ever-lived largest fossil remains of the Megalodon Shark which measures up to 82 feet or 25 meters in length.
What Is The Weight Of Megalodon Shark?
Well, the incredibly large size species of sharks weigh more than we expected. According to the data collected while analyzing the species, it was observed that the average weight of an adult Megalodon Shark is about 30 metric tonnes or 66,000 pounds. Furthermore, the weight of the largest specimen discovered is about 65 metric tonnes or 143,000 pounds.
What Is The Size Of Megalodon Shark Tooth?
According to the fossil’s records, Megalodon Shark has large, serrated, triangular, and symmetrical teeth which measure about 6.9 inches or 17.8 cm long – almost three times larger than the teeth of modern-day sharks. Interestingly, the young pups have teeth of about 6.6 feet or 2 meters in length. Moreover, the sharks possessed a ferocious biting force of about 108,514 to 182,201 N which is enough to crush a human in just one stroke.
Are Megalodon Sharks Larger In Size Than The Modern Day Sharks?
In the present day, the largest species of sharks living in the oceanic world is the Whale shark which is about 41.50 feet or 12.65 meters in length and weight nearly 9 tonnes or 19,000 kg whereas the Megalodon Shark was larger both in length as well as in weight. Compared to the Great White shark, the size of the White Shark is about half of the size of the Megalodon Shark. Interestingly, the fossil records depicted that the size of the Megalodon Shark is far larger than the giant land animal – the dinosaurs. Thus, all the large size animals either living on the land or under the water did not match the size of the Megalodon Shark.
Bottom Line
Megalodon sharks are known to be one of the largest and most powerful species of sharks ever lived in the open waters. According to the fossil’s records, the Megalodon Sharks are larger than the modern-day Whale sharks as well as the land’s largest creature – the dinosaurs. The largest fossilized specimen of the Megalodon Shark collected was 82 feet long and weighed about 143,000 pounds. After going into a deep analysis, it is confirmed that no modern-day shark reaches the size of the Megalodon Shark.
