Megalodon wasn’t so mega after all! Ancient shark was SLIMMER than depicted in movies, scientists claim
In the Meg film franchise, the megalodon shark is depicted as a gigantic, monstrous beast that can race through the waters toward unsuspecting victims.
But a new study suggests the megalodon wasn’t so mega after all.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, say that previous studies, by basing estimates on modern great white specimens, gave the wrong idea about the megalodon’s shape.
Rather than being a sturdy beast, the new research indicates that the ancient shark was slender and long.
“Although it is still uncertain exactly how long the body shape of O. megalodon was elongated compared to the great white shark, this new finding marks an important scientific breakthrough,” said Phillip Sternes, lead author of the study.
New research suggests the megalodon was leaner, but much taller, than scientists had thought. A group of 26 international experts say measurements of 50-65ft may underestimate the ancient shark’s true size
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, say that by basing estimates on modern white sharks, previous studies gave the wrong idea about the megalodon’s shape (artist’s impression)
Previous estimates suggest the megalodon could have been 15 to 20 meters long and weigh more than 50 tons.
Still, these are only rough estimates because so little of the megalodon remains in the fossil record.
All scientists have to work with is an incomplete set of vertebrae and some teeth.
Since this isn’t much to base their predictions on, paleontologists have used the modern great white shark as the basis for their assumptions.
This means they assumed this prehistoric super shark was round and stocky like a great white shark.
However, Mr Sternes explained: ‘The new study strongly suggests that the body shape of O.megalodon was not just a larger version of the modern great white shark.’
Instead of, this study proposes that the megalodon was actually slimmer and longer than its modern cousin.
In the Meg film franchise, the megalodon shark is depicted as a gigantic, monstrous beast that can race through the waters towards unsuspecting victims
Researchers assumed the megalodon would have a similar build to modern great white sharks (pictured), which are sturdier than other ocean hunters
To make this new prediction, a team of 26 scientists from around the world re-examined the fossil record.
In particular, they focused on a study of the vertebrae of a megalodon currently housed in a Belgian museum.
This study added up the lengths of all the vertebrae to estimate that this particular shark’s spine was 37 feet (11 meters) long.
However, a previous study had estimated that the same shark was only 9 meters long.
The smaller estimate was arrived at by measuring spinal thickness and comparing it to the ratio of spinal diameter to body length found in great whites.
Kenshu Shimada, a paleobiologist at DePaul University and co-lead author, said: ‘It was a ‘eureka moment’ when our research team realized the discrepancy between two previously published lengths for the same Megalodon specimen.
‘The remarkably simple evidence, which had a more slender body than the great white shark, was hidden in plain sight.’
By comparing a CT scan of the spine of a living great white shark with a reconstruction of that of the megalodon, the researchers found that the ancient shark’s spine was significantly thinner.
Rather than assuming this meant the shark was smaller overall, the scientists say this spine would have made more sense for a longer, thinner body.
Mr Sterne said: ‘Our team re-examined the fossil record and discovered that Megalodon was slimmer and possibly even longer than we thought.
“Therefore, a better model might be the modern mako shark.”
Because so little survives in the fossil record, paleontologists must work with these types of teeth and often incomplete sets of vertebrae.
The researchers now suggest that a mako shark like this could be a better model for what the megalodon looked like. This would mean it was longer and thinner than previously thought
However, this isn’t just a matter of figuring out what the megalodon looked like.
These results could also change the way we think about how the megalodon lived and died.
It was believed that megalodons, like the great white shark, had been powerful fast swimmers over long distances.
But a longer, thinner body plan would actually be more suitable for slow cruising and short bursts of speed.
A longer body also means a longer digestive tract, meaning the megalodon could extract more nutrients from its food.
“With a greater ability to digest its food, it could have survived longer without having to hunt,” Mr Sternes added.
‘This means less predation pressure on other marine animals. If I only have to eat one whale every now and then, whale populations will remain more stable over time.”
A longer body would make the megalodon slower and less agile, but would reduce the frequency with which it had to eat. The researchers now say the great white shark may have contributed to the megalodon’s extinction by preying on the slower shark for a dwindling food supply.
This could overturn current theories about the megalodon’s extinction.
Because it was believed that the giant shark would have to eat voraciously, scientists theorized that declining prey populations were driving it to natural extinction.
However, Mr. Strennes has another theory, derived from the new form.
He concluded: ‘I believe there was a combination of factors that led to the extinction, but one of them may have been the rise of the great white shark, which may have been more agile, making it an even better predator than the Megalodon. ‘