The now-extinct megalodon shark may have been larger than first believed, reaching lengths of 80 feet (24.3 meters), according to a new study published in Palaeontologia Electronica last week.
This is about the length of an eight-story building, meaning that megalodon sharks were about 4.5 meters longer than existing predictions.
Megalodon sharks roamed the seas between 20 million and 3.6 million years ago. Despite this, no whole megalodon (Otodus megalodon) skeleton has ever been discovered, so most of the scientific research about them comes from fossils of their vertebrae scales and teeth.
"Previous estimates using teeth to predict its size had the shark reaching about 18-20 meters total length (59-65 feet)," co-author Phillip Sternes told Live Science.
In the new study, however, researchers examined megalodon fossils and compared them to over 150 living and extinct shark species to try to build an image of the size of the giant shark.
Part of the research involved comparing sections of the megalodon's trunk with the trunks of 145 modern and 20 extinct shark species. The largest megalodon fossil ever found is a 36-foot-long (11 m) section of its spine.
The researches based the estimations on the assumption that the megalodon was roughly proportional to other shark species, and then extrapolated from the 36 feet (11 meter) trunk section, to estimate that it may have had a 6 feet (1.8 meter) long head and 3.6 meter long tail, making it a total of 54 feet (16.4 meters)
Assuming that the megalodon was roughly proportional to the majority of other shark species, and extrapolating from the 36-foot (11 m) trunk section, the researchers estimated that this individual shark may have had a 6-foot-long (1.8 m) head and 12-foot-long (3.6 meter) tail, giving it a total length of 54 feet (16.4 meters).
However, one discovered megalodon vertebra measured much longer – at 9 inches (23 centimeters) in diameter — 3 inches (7.6 cm) bigger than the largest vertebra from the 54-foot shark.
Using this figure, this vertebra most likely belonged to a megalodon that measured in at 80 feet long.
Appearance of the megalodon
The study also found that the live offspring of the megalodon may have been 12 to 13 feet (3.6 to 3.9 m) long.
The teeth of megalodon sharks are similar to that of modern-day great white sharks, as both are similarly serrated. This led scientists to believe that the megalodon resembled a great white.
"Previous studies simply assumed that megalodon must have looked like a gigantic version of the modern great white shark without any evidence," study lead author Kenshu Shimada, a paleobiology professor at DePaul University in Chicago, told Live Science.
However, new research found that the megalodon was more likely slender and streamlined.
Based on the revised maximum body size, as well as hydrodynamic models of how creatures like whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), basking sharks (Cetorhinus Maximus), and whales move through the water, the researchers decided that the megalodon was more similar in build to a lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris).
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