How long is Megalodon? Giant shark megalodon

Unexplored corners of our planet - mountains, forests, seas and oceans - still hide huge number mysterious inhabitants. It is difficult to imagine what creatures lived long before the present, but, fortunately, numerous finds allow this to be done.

The ocean is the least studied part of the Earth. Unknown animals may be hiding under the water. One of these animals was megalodon.

First guesses

He is considered the most big shark, currently known to science.

Great white shark tooth and fossilized megalodon tooth

The first find that confirmed the existence were teeth.

True, at first it was believed that these were fossilized tongues of snakes or dragons. Only in 1667 N. Stensen from Denmark suggested that these were shark teeth.

The year 1835 became famous when Lewis Agassiz, a Swiss naturalist, wrote a paper on fossil fish and gave the scientific name to the ancient shark - Carcharodon megalodon.

Unfortunately, no complete megalodon skeleton has been found. Like all sharks, it consisted of cartilage, so it was not preserved. Only fossilized teeth and vertebrae were found.

The age of the remains is 2.8 – 2.5 million years. It turns out that these sharks existed in the early Miocene - late Pliocene.

Unusual Finds:

• Teeth. The most common findings of megalodon remains are teeth. Only the white shark, now living, has a similar structure. But the teeth ancient shark were much larger - at least 2-3 times, more powerful, stronger and had uniform notches. The shape of the teeth is triangular or V-shaped. The diagonal size reached 18-19 cm. Remains were found all over the world giant fish: Europe, Africa, North and South America, Cuba, Jamaica, Japan, India and even in the Mariana Trench area. The largest tooth was found in Peru - 19 cm, and in South Carolina - 18.4 cm.
• Vertebrae.In addition to teeth, researchers around the world have found megalodon vertebrae. In 1926, in Belgium, near Antwerp, a fragment was discovered consisting of 150 vertebrae, the diameter of which was up to 15.5 cm. In 1983, in Denmark - 20 vertebrae from 10 to 23 cm. In 2006, a spinal column with the largest vertebrae - up to 23 cm in diameter.

Body measurements

No complete remains other than teeth and vertebrae were found, so to estimate the size of the megalodon, scientists are forced to resort to reconstructions, comparing it with a great white shark.

Comparative sizes: maximum and minimum size of megalodon, great white shark and human

1. Bashford Dean American Museum natural history, made his first attempt in the 1900s. The jaw he recreated exceeded 3 meters; accordingly, the body length of the fossil shark approximately reached 30 meters.
2. J. E. Randall, conducting research in 1973, concluded that megalodon had a body up to 13 meters long.
3. M. D. Gottfried and a group of scientists in 1996 reported that the body length was from 16 to 20 meters, and the weight reached 47 tons.
4. Clifford Jeremy in 2002 checked the previously obtained data, comparing them with new calculations. It turned out that the body length was 16.5 meters.
5. In 2013, Catalina Pimento analyzed the teeth found and obtained new results. The body length was 17.9 meters.

Jaw: structure and bite force

Megalodon jaw at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

In 1989, Japanese scientists described preserved remains with an almost complete set of teeth.

Megalodon had very strong teeth, total number which reached 276 pieces. They were located in 5 rows.

Paleontologists believe that the jaw length of the largest individuals reached 2 meters.

Despite their enormous size, the teeth were very thin and had a small cutting edge.

The roots of the teeth were powerful relative to the overall height of the tooth.

Thanks to these teeth, megalodon was able to open the chest or bite through the vertebrae of large animals without breaking, even if they cut into bones.

S. Uro and a team of scientists conducted an experiment in 2008, the purpose of which was to determine the strength of the megalodon bite.

Based on the results, it reached from 108.5 to 182 kN. These figures are much higher than the bite force of Dunkleosteus - 7.4 kN, and the white shark - 18.2 kN. The closest figures are for Deinosuchus - 103 kN, Tyrannosaurus - 156 kN, Funke's pliosaur - 150 kN.

Skeletal reconstruction

Scientists' research and attempts to reconstruct the megalodon's body have allowed the scientific community to determine the skeletal structure.

Reconstructed megalodon skeleton at the Calvert Maritime Museum, Maryland, USA

All indicators are described in comparison with the great white shark: the skull was cartilaginous, but much thicker and stronger; fins – massive and thick for movement and control of a giant body; the number of vertebrae exceeded that of other specimens.

Based on all the data obtained, Gottfried was able to reconstruct the complete skeleton of the megalodon: it turned out to be 11.5 meters in length.

It turns out that megalodon is the largest of all existing fish. But such a large body size gave certain inconveniences prehistoric shark, namely:

• Gas exchange;
• Minimum endurance;
• Slow metabolism;
• Insufficiently active lifestyle.

Life and methods of hunting

The remains found indicate that he fed on cetaceans - sperm whales, bowhead whales, cetotheriums, dolphins, porpoises, sirenians, sea ​​turtles.

Large quantity The whale bones discovered to date show clear marks of deep scratches, as if from large teeth.

Scientists are sure that these are traces of the teeth of a megalodon. Moreover, next to such remains, as a rule, were the teeth themselves.

All sharks use a complex strategy when hunting. But megalodon was an exception to this: due to its body size, it could not develop high speed and had a limited reserve of endurance.

Most likely, he hunted using exclusively ambushes, waiting for the approach of prey.

There are versions that he could go for a ram, then kill and eat the victim.

B. Kent believes that, having such huge teeth, ancient fish tried to break bones to damage vital organs in the chest.

Causes of extinction

The megalodon shark went extinct 3 million years ago. There are several reasons.

1. According to scientists, the reason for the disappearance of these large predators – competition with other animals during times of food shortage.
2. Global change climate. Their main food was small cetaceans that inhabited the warm shallow waters of shelf seas. Perhaps a huge fish lived around the same place. During the Pliocene cold snap, glaciers locked up the water, causing shelf seas to disappear. The water in the oceans became colder, which affected both megalodons and their prey.
3. The emergence of toothed whales- the ancestors of modern killer whales. They had a more developed brain and led a gregarious lifestyle. Due to their enormous size, megalodons could not swim maneuverably, so they were most likely attacked by killer whales.

Megalodon in the 21st century

Some scientists are convinced that he lives to this day. In favor this fact they present completely unthinkable arguments that do not stand up to criticism.

First, they say, only 5% of the world's oceans have been explored. Perhaps ancient sharks may be hiding in unexplored parts.

Secondly, there are several photographs showing fragments of the body of a megalodon. However, all this has been refuted, and at the moment, the world scientific community is absolutely sure that this species is extinct.

The megalodon's skeleton was made of cartilage rather than bone, so very few remains have survived to this day. Megalodon teeth are the largest fish teeth. Their length reached 18 cm. Among all known sea ​​creatures No one else has such huge teeth. The most similar teeth are those of the white shark, but they are much smaller (3 times). A complete skeleton was not found, only vertebrae. The most famous discovery of a megalodon vertebral column was made in Belgium in 1929.

The remains of megalodon have been found all over the globe, even in the famous Mariana Trench at a depth of more than 10 km. Its ubiquitous distribution suggests that it was a super predator that lived where it wanted and was on top everywhere food chain.

Megalodon's teeth are so huge that for a long time they were mistaken for the remains of dragons or giant sea ​​serpents. Only in 1667 did the naturalist Niels Stensen suggest that the dragon's "stone tongues" were the teeth of a huge shark. Its position in scientific classification the predator occupied in the mid-19th century. under the name Carcharodon megalodon. Since the megalodon's teeth closely resemble those of the Great White Shark, it was assigned to the same genus Carcharodon, where he remained until the mid-1960s. At first, the Belgian researcher E. Cazier proposed moving Megalodon into a separate genus Procarcharodon, and then the Soviet scientist L. Glickman transferred the predator to the genus Megaselachus. However, Glickman noticed that megalodon teeth come in two types - with jagged edges and without jagged edges. Until 1987, “smooth” and “serrated” teeth moved from one genus to another, until the French scientist and ichthyologist A Capetta assigned Megalodon and its closest species neighbors (with jagged edges) to the genus Carcharocles megalodon. Currently, this classification is accepted by the scientific community.

Megalodon Dimensions

Megalodon most closely resembled a great white shark. Since no well-preserved skeleton has been found, scientists can judge its size based on the morphology of the white shark and drawing parallels between the animals. There are several options for calculating the size of a megalodon. Most methods determine an animal's length based on a calculated proportion between the predator's body and its teeth. Presumably, the body length of the megalodon varied from 13 m (according to J. E. Randall’s method) to 16 m (Gottfried’s method). Some scientists believe that the animal could reach even larger sizes - 25-30 m.

Body weight could reach 47 tons. This makes megalodon the largest fish of all. known to science fish

Megalodon habits

The habits of the megalodon are judged by the found remains of its victims, as well as by the habits of modern large carnivorous sharks. He hunted cetaceans, sperm whales, dolphins, porpoises, and various pinnipeds. It was a superpredator, the victims of which could be any animal at all, although the size of the megalodon implies that it hunted large fish and mammals. The main diet was occupied by cetaceans - bones with traces of megalodon bites were often found among the fossil remains of whales. It is not difficult to identify a megalodon bite - it is huge in size and with characteristic scratches left by the jagged edges of sharp teeth. Sometimes scientists find whale bones with megalodon teeth stuck in them.

Usually sharks attack their prey in vulnerable places, but megalodon apparently acted a little differently. The remains of some megalodon victims showed that the predator rammed its prey. Scientists believe that this is how he broke bones and damaged internal organs victims. After this, the immobilized victim was devoured by the predator. Even if the megalodon's prey was large, the shark always tried to first deprive it of its ability to move, biting off its fins and tail, and only after that it killed and ate it.

Extinction

The reason for the extinction of the predator is not fully known. Scientists have several hypotheses for the extinction of megalodon.

• Decrease in water temperature of the world's oceans. 15-17 million years ago, glaciations in the northern hemisphere and blocking of the sea strait between the Northern and South America led to a drop in temperature on the planet. Growing glaciers also led to a drop in the water level of the world's oceans. Fossil remains confirm that as water levels dropped and temperatures dropped, the megalodon's habitat moved to warmer regions. The breeding and feeding grounds of basking sharks were also affected.
• Hunger. By the end of the Miocene, most species of baleen whales became extinct. Namely, baleen whales constituted the main diet of megalodon. The surviving species of whales were better adapted to existing habitat conditions, were faster and preferred cool waters. It was difficult for the megalodon to hunt them, and there was no suitable prey to satisfy its colossal appetite.
• Competition with predatory whales. The emergence of flocks carnivorous mammals, which successfully competed with megalodon. The famous killer whales turned out to be more successful hunters. They were faster, hunted all large sea animals, and were practically invulnerable due to high speed and intelligence.

Scientists believe that all three factors led to the death of the giant. Cooling of the ocean and lack of nutrition played a significant role in the death of the megalodon, and against the background of this, newly emerging predators finally replaced the significantly thinned ranks of megalodons.

Megalodon is the subject of much speculation that it still exists in the deepest and most remote parts of the world's oceans. Among ordinary people, deep-sea depressions and trenches are considered almost the official homeland of megalodon, and at the same time other sea ​​giants, for example dunkleostea. “Documentary” films are made, photographs and stories of “eyewitnesses” are published. All these materials are quickly becoming very popular among viewers and readers. But not a single scientific institute will ever confirm the authenticity of such “facts.” Officially, this predator is considered extinct. In the entire history of mankind, the remains of a megalodon whose age would be younger than 1.5 million years have not been found. And this shark is simply too big to remain invisible.

Although the official position of the scientific community does not stop the “researchers”. Some generally consider the results of a survey among students to be a convincing basis for the existence of megalodon.

Not everyone knows that after the disappearance of dinosaurs, the superpredator Megalodon climbed to the top of the food chain, although it seized power over other animals not on land, but in the endless waters of the World Ocean.

Description of megalodon

The name of this gigantic shark, which lived in the Paleogene - Neogene (and according to some data, extended to the Pleistocene) is translated from Greek as “big tooth”. It is believed that megalodon kept marine life at bay for quite some time, appearing about 28.1 million years ago and disappearing into oblivion about 2.6 million years ago.

Appearance

Lifetime portrait of a megalodon (typical cartilaginous fish, devoid of bones) were recreated from his teeth, scattered in abundance throughout the ocean. In addition to teeth, researchers found vertebrae and entire spinal columns, preserved due to a high concentration of calcium (the mineral helped the vertebrae withstand the weight of the shark and the loads that arose during muscle efforts).

This is interesting! Until the Danish anatomist and geologist Niels Stensen, the teeth of the extinct shark were thought to be ordinary stones, until he identified the rocky formations as the teeth of a megalodon. This happened in the 17th century, after which Stensen began to be called the first paleontologist.

To begin with, they reconstructed a shark jaw (with five rows of strong teeth, the total number of which reached 276), which, according to paleogeneticists, was equal to 2 meters. Then they began to work on the body of the megalodon, giving it maximum dimensions, which was typical for females, and also based on the assumption that the monster was closely related to the white shark.

The restored skeleton, 11.5 m long, resembles a skeleton, sharply increased in width/length, and frightens visitors to the Maryland Maritime Museum (USA). A broad skull, gigantic toothy jaws and a blunt short snout - as ichthyologists say, “megalodon looked like a pig.” Overall repulsive and terrifying appearance.

By the way, today scientists have already moved away from the thesis about the similarity of megalodon and carcharodon (white shark) and suggest that in appearance it rather resembled a multiply enlarged sand shark. In addition, it turned out that the behavior of megalodon (due to its enormous size and special ecological niche) was strikingly different from all modern sharks.

Megalodon Dimensions

Disputes about the maximum size of the superpredator are still going on, and a number of methods have been developed to determine its true size: some suggest starting from the number of vertebrae, others draw a parallel between the size of the teeth and the length of the body. The triangular teeth of megalodon are still found in different corners planet, which indicates the wide distribution of these sharks throughout the World Ocean.

This is interesting! Carcharodon has the most similar teeth in shape, but the teeth of its extinct relative are more massive, stronger, almost three times larger and jagged more evenly. Megalodon (unlike related species) does not have a pair of lateral denticles, which gradually disappeared from its teeth.

Megalodon was armed with the largest teeth (in comparison with other living and extinct sharks) in the entire history of the Earth. Their inclined height, or diagonal length, reached 18–19 cm, and the shortest fang grew up to 10 cm, while the tooth of a white shark (the giant of the modern shark world) does not exceed 6 cm.

Comparison and study of the remains of the megalodon, consisting of fossilized vertebrae and numerous teeth, led to the idea of ​​​​its colossal size. Ichthyologists are confident that an adult megalodon reached up to 15–16 meters with a mass of about 47 tons. More impressive parameters are considered debatable.

Character and lifestyle

Giant fish, to which megalodon belonged, are rarely fast swimmers - they do not have enough endurance and the required level of metabolism for this. Their metabolism is slow, and their movement is not energetic enough: by the way, according to these indicators, megalodon is comparable not so much to a white shark, but to a whale shark. One more thing vulnerable spot superpredator - low strength of cartilage, which is inferior in strength to bone tissue, even taking into account their increased calcification.

Megalodon simply could not lead an active lifestyle due to the fact that the huge mass muscle tissue(muscle) was attached not to bones, but to cartilage. That is why the monster, looking out for prey, preferred to sit in ambush, avoiding intense pursuit: the megalodon was interfered with low speed and a meager supply of stamina. Now there are 2 known methods with which the shark killed its victims. She chose the method based on the dimensions of the gastronomic facility.

This is interesting! The first method was a crushing ram, used on small cetaceans - megalodon attacked areas with hard bones (shoulders, top part spine, chest) to break them and injure the heart or lungs.

Having experienced a blow to vital organs, the victim quickly lost the ability to move and died from severe internal injuries. Megalodon invented the second method of attack much later, when its hunting interests included massive cetaceans that appeared in the Pliocene. Ichthyologists found many tail vertebrae and bones from flippers belonging to large Pliocene whales, with traces of megalodon bites. These findings led to the conclusion that the superpredator first immobilized large prey by biting off/tearing off its fins or flippers, and only then finished it off completely.

Lifespan

Range, habitats

Fossil remains of the megalodon revealed that its global population was numerous and occupied almost the entire World Ocean, with the exception of cold regions. According to ichthyologists, megalodon was found in temperate and subtropical waters of both hemispheres, where water temperatures fluctuated in the range of +12+27°C.

Super shark teeth and vertebrae found in different places globe, such as:

• North America;
• South America;
• Japan and India;
• Europe;
• Australia;
• New Zealand;
• Africa.

Megalodon teeth have been found far from the main continents - for example, in Mariana Trench Pacific Ocean. And in Venezuela, the teeth of a superpredator were found in freshwater sediments, which led to the conclusion that the megalodon was adapted to life in fresh water bodies (like a bull shark).

Megalodon diet

Until toothed whales like killer whales appeared, the monster shark, as befits a superpredator, sat at the top of the food pyramid and did not limit itself in the choice of food. Wide range living creatures was explained by the monstrous size of the megalodon, its massive jaws and huge teeth with a small cutting edge. Thanks to its size, megalodon could cope with animals that no modern shark could defeat.

This is interesting! From the point of view of ichthyologists, megalodon with its short jaw was not able (unlike the giant mosasaurus) to tightly capture and effectively dismember large prey. He usually tore off fragments of skin and superficial muscle.

It has now been established that the basic food of the megalodon was smaller sharks and turtles, whose shells were well suited to the pressure of powerful jaw muscles and the impact of numerous teeth.

The megalodon's diet, along with sharks and sea turtles, included:

• bowhead whales;
• small sperm whales;
• minke whales;
• Odobenocetops;
• cetotherium (baleen whales);
• porpoises and sirens;
• dolphins and pinnipeds.

Megalodon did not hesitate to attack objects from 2.5 to 7 m in length, for example, primitive baleen whales, which could not resist the apex predator and were not fast enough to escape from it. In 2008, a team of researchers from the United States and Australia determined the bite power of megalodon using computer modeling.

The results of the calculation were considered stunning - the megalodon squeezed the victim 9 times stronger than any current shark, and 3 times more noticeably than saltwater crocodile(holder of the current record for bite power). True, in terms of absolute bite force, megalodon was still inferior to some extinct species, such as Deinosuchus, Hoffmann's mosasaurus, Sarcosuchus, Purussaurus and Daspletosaurus.

Natural enemies

Despite its indisputable status as a superpredator, megalodon had serious enemies (they are also food competitors). Ichthyologists include among them toothed whales, more precisely, sperm whales like Zygophyseters and Melville's leviathans, as well as some giant sharks, for example, Carcharocles chubutensis from the genus Carcharocles. Sperm whales and later killer whales were not afraid of adult super-sharks and often hunted juvenile megalodon.

Megalodon extinction

The disappearance of the species from the face of the Earth is timed to coincide with the junction of the Pliocene and Pleistocene: it is believed that the megalodon went extinct approximately 2.6 million years ago, and possibly much later - 1.6 million years ago.

Causes of extinction

Paleontologists still cannot pinpoint the exact reason that was decisive for the death of megalodon, and therefore talk about a combination of factors (other top predators and global climate change). It is known that in the Pliocene era the bottom rose up between North and South America, and the Pacific and atlantic oceans divided by the Isthmus of Panama. Warm currents, having changed directions, could no longer deliver the required amount of heat to the Arctic, and Northern Hemisphere cooled down noticeably.

This is the first negative factor, which affected the lifestyle of megalodons, accustomed to warm waters. In the Pliocene, small whales were replaced by large ones, which preferred the cold northern climate. Populations of large whales began to migrate, swimming to cool waters in the summer, and megalodon lost its usual prey.

Important! Around the middle of the Pliocene, without year-round access to large prey, megalodons began to starve, which provoked a surge in cannibalism, which particularly affected young animals. The second reason for the extinction of the megalodon is the appearance of the ancestors of modern killer whales, toothed whales, endowed with a more developed brain and leading a collective lifestyle.

Due to their large size and slow metabolism, megalodons were inferior to toothed whales in terms of high-speed swimming and maneuverability. Megalodon was vulnerable in other ways - it was not able to protect its gills, and also periodically fell into tonic immobility (like most sharks). It is not surprising that killer whales often feasted on young megalodons (hiding in coastal waters), and having united, they also killed adult individuals. It is believed that the megalodons that lived in the Southern Hemisphere were the last to go extinct.

Is Megalodon alive?

Some cryptozoologists are confident that the monster shark could well have survived to this day. In their conclusions, they proceed from the well-known thesis: a species is classified as extinct if no signs of its presence on the planet are found for more than 400 thousand years. But how can we interpret the findings of paleontologists and ichthyologists in this case? “Fresh” teeth of megalodons found in the Baltic Sea and near Tahiti were recognized as practically “children’s” - the age of the teeth, which did not even have time to completely fossilize, is 11 thousand years.

Another relatively recent surprise, dating back to 1954, was 17 monstrous teeth stuck in the hull of the Australian ship Rachel Cohen and discovered while clearing the bottom of shells. The teeth were analyzed and the verdict was that they belonged to a megalodon.

This is interesting! Skeptics call the Rachel Cohen precedent a hoax. Their opponents never tire of repeating that the World Ocean has so far been studied only 5–10%, and it is impossible to completely exclude the existence of megalodon in its depths.

Adherents of the theory of a modern megalodon armed themselves with ironclad arguments proving the secrecy of the shark tribe. Thus, the world learned about the whale shark only in 1828, and only in 1897, the goblin shark, previously classified as an irrevocably extinct species, emerged from the depths of the World Ocean (literally and figuratively).

It was only in 1976 that humanity became acquainted with the inhabitants of the deep sea, largemouth sharks, when one of them got stuck in an anchor chain abandoned by a research vessel near the island. Oahu (Hawaii). Since then, largemouth sharks have been seen no more than 30 times (usually as carrion on the coast). It has not yet been possible to conduct a total scan of the World Ocean, and no one has ever set such a large-scale task. And the megalodon itself, adapted to deep water, will not approach the coast (due to its huge dimensions).

The eternal rivals of the super-sharks, sperm whales, have adapted to the considerable pressure of the water column and feel good, diving 3 kilometers and occasionally surfacing to take a breath of air. Megalodon has (or had?) an undeniable physiological advantage - it has gills that supply the body with oxygen. The megalodon has no compelling reason to make its presence known, which means there is hope that people will still hear about it.

The huge Miocene megalodon shark (Carcharodon megalodon) attracts great attention, both scientists and people quite far from paleontology and zoology. The first thing that attracts people about megalodon is, of course, its unimaginable size.
And since only the fossilized teeth of a megalodon have reached us, then to determine the true size of this sea ​​monster extremely difficult.

However, scientists have one clue: the fact is that the teeth of each type of shark are very different from each other. Among the enormous diversity of the superorder of sharks (Selachimorpha), there are species with the teeth of the most different forms and sizes, depending on who is hunted and what lifestyle this particular species leads. Based on the fossilized teeth of the megalodon known to science, which are surprisingly similar to the teeth of the famous white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), scientists came to the conclusion that this is its closest relative from the species known to science (both extinct and modern) and placed it in the same genus - Carcharodon.

The difference between the teeth of a white shark and a megalodon lies primarily in the much large sizes the teeth of the latter, as well as in their relatively greater massiveness. That is, the ratio of the length of a megalodon’s tooth to its width is somewhat less than that of a white shark, whose teeth are longer relative to their width. The notches on the megalodon’s teeth are less pronounced than those of the white shark, but this is most likely, it seems to me, the result of the great antiquity of the megalodon’s teeth - the notches could have been poorly preserved.

Now let's move on to the main question of this article - what size did Megalodon reach and what was its weight? The most difficult thing here is to determine at least the approximate length of the megalodon. But first it’s easier to calculate it approximate weight. A megalodon's tooth is larger and therefore about 8 times heavier than a white shark's tooth (See photo below).

A large white shark weighs about 3 tons. Thus, multiplying 3 tons by 8 we get the weight of the megalodon at 24 tons. Now, how to determine the length of the megalodon, which supposedly weighed 24 tons? To do this, we again need to return to the proportions of a white shark. A 3-ton white shark is known to be approximately 6 meters long. Based on this proportion, the length of the megalodon would be twice as long - 12 meters.

I do not presume to say that these are the true dimensions and mass of the megalodon, but in any case they are quite close to the truth. The illustration below only confirms that my calculations are very close to the truth (we, of course, did not collude with the author of this picture).


On this picture The length of the megalodon is slightly more than twice the length of the white shark. There is a formula according to which when an animal increases N times, its mass increases N times cubed. Thus, according to this figure, the mass of the megalodon was more than 24 tons, which is very close to my calculations.

So, we found out that the large megalodon was just over 12 meters long and weighed more than 24 tons. It is reasonable to assume that larger megalodons were also encountered, since 6 meters and 3 tons are not at all the limit for an extremely large white shark.

In 1954, the Australian ship Rachel Cohen landed on major renovation in one of the Adelaide docks. The repair began with " spring cleaning" We started cleaning the bottom of the ship from shells, and discovered 17 huge teeth stuck in the hull. Each one measures 8 by 10 cm.

In the entire history of the Earth, only one “fish” could boast of such teeth - megalodon. One problem: it became extinct 1.5 million years ago. Or not?

26.5 million years old giant bloodthirsty shark, known as megalodon(Carcharodon megalodon), reigned in the world's oceans. Nature has never created anything more terrible. According to scientists, the length megalodon reached from 20 to 30 meters! And it weighed from 50 to 100 tons. His favorite foods were sperm whales and baleen whales, which he snacked on, as they say, at a time.

Can you imagine the size of the mouth of this monstrous fish if a 10-meter whale was an ordinary hunting object for it? These super predators were at the top of the food chain. And, so to speak, they kept all aquatic inhabitants in fear.

The huge teeth, which are found throughout the ocean, indicating an incredibly wide distribution of megalodons, are triangular in shape and resemble sharks. The only difference is in scale. The tooth of the largest - the great white shark - does not exceed 6 cm. While in the megalodon the most modest “fang” reaches 10 cm, but the usual size for them is 17-18 cm.

Actually, using these teeth, scientists were able to approximately recreate the appearance and size of the predator, because the largest individuals were female - “megalodonichus”. First they reconstructed the jaw, and then the “figure”, taking into account the fact that the closest relative of megalodons is the great white shark. The result was a kind of “great white”, only more “big-boned”, and also addicted to steroids: the frightening-looking skeleton now flaunts in the Maryland Maritime Museum (USA).

It is simply impossible to pass by and not shudder in horror. A wide skull, massive jaws and a short, blunt snout are an unattractive appearance. As ichthyologists joke, “it’s obvious megalodon was a pig." Next to this giant, a person feels like just a grain of sand. And looking at a 2-meter jaw with 5 rows of teeth makes you shiver. You can’t help but be glad that these monsters are no longer in the ocean.

But is it really not? This is just a big question.

From a geological point of view, animals are considered extinct if no signs of their presence are found for more than 400,000 years. However, let's not forget about the Australian ship Rachel Cohen: tests showed that the teeth found in the bottom of the ship actually belonged to a megalodon. Okay, let's say it was a hoax. But what about the findings of paleontologists and ichthyologists?

The last teeth of megalodons, discovered in the vicinity of Tahiti and in our Baltic Sea, were dated almost as “youthful” - they were given 11 thousand years. They didn't even have time to petrify properly! Feel the difference: 1.5 million - and 11 thousand years! Don't forget to take into account the fact that only 10% of the world's oceans have been studied. So it may turn out that somewhere out there - in the depths - there are also these “charming fish”.

Would you say that such giant sharks could not go unnoticed? Leave your pride behind. Deep sea shark, known as largemouth, was discovered by humanity only in 1976. And that was completely by accident: one individual got stuck in the anchor chain of a research vessel in the waters near the island of Oahu (Hawaii). 36 years have passed since then, but during all this time the largemouth shark was seen only 25 times - and then only in the form of corpses on the coast.

The goblin shark, also known as the goblin shark, discovered its presence in the world's oceans in 1897. And before that it was considered long ago and hopelessly extinct.

AND whale shark people first “found” it in 1828, until then remaining blissfully unaware of its existence.

In addition, no one has scanned the World Ocean. And to the coast megalodon will never come closer - its impressive size will not allow it. So this one shark leads a deep-sea lifestyle. How deep? Good question. Sperm whales, for example, the largest predatory animals known to science, are able to dive to a depth of 3 kilometers and feel great there: they don’t care about water pressure. True, they have to rise to the surface for a breath of air. Megalodons don’t need this either: their gills supply them with oxygen. So it’s too early, too early to cross them off the list of the living!
Meeting with the “beautiful”

A strong argument in favor of the “survivability” of megalodons is given in his book “Sharks and Rays of the Australian Seas” (1963) by the famous Australian ichthyologist David George Stead.

In 1918, he worked in the government service and was responsible for commercial fishing in the southern waters of Australia. And so he was hastily called from the port of Stevenson: local fishermen refuse to go to sea, scared to death by some huge fish - they need specialist advice. Stead hurried to appear. After questioning the fishermen thoroughly, he found out the following.

Following the routine once and for all, early in the morning the lobster fishermen set out to retrieve the traps they had set the day before. We arrived at the place - Bruton Island. Divers went underwater to attach traps to motorboats. The rest of the team quietly awaited their return. However, the divers rose immediately. In a panic, they climbed onto the decks, shouting in different voices: “ Shark! Gigantic shark! Let's get out of here immediately!!"

And indeed, in the water surface the fishermen saw the outlines of a huge terrible fish. Without wasting a second, they hurried to leave scary place. And after recovering from horror, the divers said that, having descended to the bottom, they saw an incredibly large ash-white shark. She devoured the placed traps with lobsters and neither anchor chains nor cables stopped her.

According to the stories of the fishermen, it turned out that the shark reached 35 meters in length. And her head was the size of the roof of a boat shed.

The ichthyologist did not immediately believe the fishermen: common sense told him that megalodon(and judging by the size of the shark, it could only be him) there was no way he could resurrect and show up in Australian waters. On the other hand, Stead realized: there is no reason for fishermen to lie and avoid work, because their income depends on the catch. Besides, to invent such a story required a certain amount of imagination. The fishermen were experienced sailors, but not dreamers.

So as a scientist, Stead was a complete fiasco: he could neither refute nor confirm the words of the lobster fishermen. For himself, the ichthyologist concluded: one cannot exclude the fact that megalodons still live in the World Ocean. And you know, we tend to agree with him. Who knows what it hides - this deep blue sea?

Steps No. 22 2012