It was during the Miocene and Pliocene eras that the renowned shark, Megalodon, inhabited the marine environment and preyed upon baleen whales, toothed whales, sirenians, fish, seals, and many other marine animals. These sharks were the largest fish to ever inhabit the oceans; some Megalodon sharks grew to 59 feet (18 meters) or more in length.. Paleontologists believe these sharks dominated the oceans because their teeth have been found on every continent of the plant Earth except Antarctica. However, apart from their big teeth, fierce predatory nature, and enormous sizes, there are some other surprising facts that many people do not know about these gargantuan sharks. Let’s see what those facts are!
A Single Megalodon Weighed As Much As Eight Elephants
Scientists believe that Megalodons weighted up to 143,000 pounds, which converts into 65,000 in kilograms. And what’s even more surprising, female Megalodons are believed to have been twice the size of male Megalodons. Scientists have come to these conclusions purely on the basis of Megalodon’s fossil remains, which are mainly teeth. They looked at Great White sharks’ teeth size and compared it with their other dimensions. Using these correlations, they calculated the weight and size of Megalodons.
Megalodon’s Babies Were Cannibal
We all know that Megalodons were a ferocious, apex predator of their time. However, it is believed that they had begun showing their rapacious behavior even before reaching the ocean in the wombs of their mother. Baby Megalodons, increased their chances of survival, by eating their own siblings in the womb. Scientists believe that baby Megalodons exhibited this behavior to stop other embryo from taking significant space in the womb. Doing this allowed the surviving shark to grow and reach lengths of 6.6 feet at birth without any trouble.
Megalodons May Have Met Their Demise Through Cold Water
As per paleontologists, Megalodons went extinct around 3.6 million years ago when the Earth entered a period of cooling and drying. These predatory sharks lived in tropical waters comfortably with lots of preys to eat. However, when temperatures dropped towards the end of Pliocene era and seas started to freeze, Megalodons gradually became extinct as their habitat got restricted significantly. It is also believed that the preys on which Megalodons relied for survival, they died too or moved to colder waters, which also contributed toward Megalodon’s extinction.
So, there you have it. These are some of the lesser known facts about the Megalodon shark. If you are a fossil collector and want to have this shark’s tooth in your collection, we will advise you to hurry as most Megalodon hunting sites are drying up. If interested, you can buy Indonesian Megalodon teeth from Buried Treasure Fossils. These teeth have been discovered in West Java in Indonesia. Before these fossil remains of the renowned Megalodon get completely sold online, make sure you get yours in time from Buried Treasure Fossils.
