Post by bluefedish on Jan 22, 2008 2:20:19 GMT -5
The megalodon, meaning "big tooth", is a giant prehistoric shark that probably lived between about 16 - 1.5 million years ago, and was the apex predator in its time. It's recognized as the biggest known carnivorous fish to have ever existed. It's often termed the "megatooth shark". The classification of this shark is currently under dispute and a new genus has been proposed for this shark. Fossil records reveal that the megalodon fed on large animals including the eartly whales.
Some cryptozoologists argue that this shark might still be alive in this modern age, probably living in the deep waters, and often cite the examples of coelacanth and megamouth shark to support their claims. But such beliefs are considered to be false and lack sufficient credibility. Still megalodon has left a lasting impact on the minds of the people around the world, as a highly fascinating monster, which is evident from the popular culrture.
Anatomy and Appearance
C. megalodon is known principally from fossil teeth and a few fossilized vertebral centra. As with all other sharks, the megalodon skeleton was formed of cartilage and not bone, resulting in the poor skeletal fossil record. The teeth are in many ways similar to great white shark teeth but are much larger and can measure up to more than 18 cm long in slant.
Nevertheless, it is extrapolations from the shape and size of the teeth of C. megalodon to related modern sharks and studies of their physical characteristics, that provide us with our conceptions about what this ancient super-predator might have looked like in life. So far, the great white shark has always been considered as the favored model by many shark experts to be used as the basis for the reconstruction of this giant shark.
A model of the entire skeleton of megalodon has been put on display in Calvert Marine Museum at Solomon's island, Maryland.
Size Estimation
Eastimating the maxium size of megalodon is a highly controversial subject. However, in 1996 three shark experts, M.D. Gottfried, Leonard compagno and S.C. Bowman, tried to solve this issue by developing a special method for measuing the size of sharks (including megalodon) with much greater accuracy, which was published in 1996. Using this new method, the maximum size of this creature was calculated to be 15.9 m (52.1 ft) long with a body mass of more than 35 tons. But this calculation was based on a 168 mm (6.61 inch) long upper anterior tooth which was the biggest tooth in the possession of these shark experts at the time. Since then, even larger megalodon teeth have been excavated which indicate that this creature could actually grow to more than 16 m (52.5 feet) long.
A very old jaw reconstruction of this shark, developed by Professor Bashford Dean in 1909, suggests a size of about 30 m (100 ft) long, but that jaw reconstruction is now considered to be inaccurate. One reason is that the teeth used as posteriors in this jaw reconstruction were not actually true posterior teeth.
Some other methods have also been developed by a few other shark experts including Randall to measure the size of megalodon, but the method that Gottfried and his colleagues suggested is actually considered to be the best among all.
Distribution, Range and Habitat
Megalodon was a pelagic fish and it thrived in all the oceans of the world in its time, indicating dominance over the marine world. The teeth of this ancient shark have been excavated from many parts of the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, Malta and India.
They most likely inhavited warm water regions around the world. But its dominance hadn't been hindered by this factor because the oceans, along with the climatic conditions, were noticeably warmer during the Miocene and early Pliocene epochs and made it possible for this species to flourish around the world, as evident from the fossil records.
Paleoecology
Diet: Assuming similar metabolic-weight ratios as the great white shark, it's estimated that it woudl need to eat about one-fiftieth of its weight of food on average per day. The teeth are serrated, which would help in tearing the flesh of prey with great efficiency. They would eat mostly whales and other large marine mammals including sirenians and pinnipeds.
Behavior: Most sharks are opportunistic predators and can rely on a broad spectrum of prey and scavenging. Megalodon was no exception to this rule as well. Some sharks (including the great white shark) employ ambush strategies against their prey during hunting. A large shark usually attacks its prey with great force in the 1st attempt to inflict maximum possible damage. Then it circles its prey and waits for it to weaken, then proceeds to finish it off without facing any resistance. Megalodon also might have employed this type of attacking strategy against large potential prey like adult whales.
However, for medium-sized prey, megalodon might go directly for the middle of the body, crushing the ribs and lungs in a single devastating attack. Remains of a few whales have been found that were attacked in this manner by large megalodon individuals.
Selected Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalodon
Some cryptozoologists argue that this shark might still be alive in this modern age, probably living in the deep waters, and often cite the examples of coelacanth and megamouth shark to support their claims. But such beliefs are considered to be false and lack sufficient credibility. Still megalodon has left a lasting impact on the minds of the people around the world, as a highly fascinating monster, which is evident from the popular culrture.
Anatomy and Appearance
C. megalodon is known principally from fossil teeth and a few fossilized vertebral centra. As with all other sharks, the megalodon skeleton was formed of cartilage and not bone, resulting in the poor skeletal fossil record. The teeth are in many ways similar to great white shark teeth but are much larger and can measure up to more than 18 cm long in slant.
Nevertheless, it is extrapolations from the shape and size of the teeth of C. megalodon to related modern sharks and studies of their physical characteristics, that provide us with our conceptions about what this ancient super-predator might have looked like in life. So far, the great white shark has always been considered as the favored model by many shark experts to be used as the basis for the reconstruction of this giant shark.
A model of the entire skeleton of megalodon has been put on display in Calvert Marine Museum at Solomon's island, Maryland.
Size Estimation
Eastimating the maxium size of megalodon is a highly controversial subject. However, in 1996 three shark experts, M.D. Gottfried, Leonard compagno and S.C. Bowman, tried to solve this issue by developing a special method for measuing the size of sharks (including megalodon) with much greater accuracy, which was published in 1996. Using this new method, the maximum size of this creature was calculated to be 15.9 m (52.1 ft) long with a body mass of more than 35 tons. But this calculation was based on a 168 mm (6.61 inch) long upper anterior tooth which was the biggest tooth in the possession of these shark experts at the time. Since then, even larger megalodon teeth have been excavated which indicate that this creature could actually grow to more than 16 m (52.5 feet) long.
A very old jaw reconstruction of this shark, developed by Professor Bashford Dean in 1909, suggests a size of about 30 m (100 ft) long, but that jaw reconstruction is now considered to be inaccurate. One reason is that the teeth used as posteriors in this jaw reconstruction were not actually true posterior teeth.
Some other methods have also been developed by a few other shark experts including Randall to measure the size of megalodon, but the method that Gottfried and his colleagues suggested is actually considered to be the best among all.
Distribution, Range and Habitat
Megalodon was a pelagic fish and it thrived in all the oceans of the world in its time, indicating dominance over the marine world. The teeth of this ancient shark have been excavated from many parts of the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, Malta and India.
They most likely inhavited warm water regions around the world. But its dominance hadn't been hindered by this factor because the oceans, along with the climatic conditions, were noticeably warmer during the Miocene and early Pliocene epochs and made it possible for this species to flourish around the world, as evident from the fossil records.
Paleoecology
Diet: Assuming similar metabolic-weight ratios as the great white shark, it's estimated that it woudl need to eat about one-fiftieth of its weight of food on average per day. The teeth are serrated, which would help in tearing the flesh of prey with great efficiency. They would eat mostly whales and other large marine mammals including sirenians and pinnipeds.
Behavior: Most sharks are opportunistic predators and can rely on a broad spectrum of prey and scavenging. Megalodon was no exception to this rule as well. Some sharks (including the great white shark) employ ambush strategies against their prey during hunting. A large shark usually attacks its prey with great force in the 1st attempt to inflict maximum possible damage. Then it circles its prey and waits for it to weaken, then proceeds to finish it off without facing any resistance. Megalodon also might have employed this type of attacking strategy against large potential prey like adult whales.
However, for medium-sized prey, megalodon might go directly for the middle of the body, crushing the ribs and lungs in a single devastating attack. Remains of a few whales have been found that were attacked in this manner by large megalodon individuals.
Selected Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalodon
