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Otodus megalodon (/ ˈ m ɛ ɡ əl ə d ɒ n / MEG-əl-ə-don; meaning "big tooth"), commonly known as megalodon, is an extinct species of giant mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Pliocene epochs.
The largest extant megalodon tooth measures 17.8 cm (6.9 inches) in length, almost three times longer than those of modern white sharks (which are typically about 5.4 cm [2.1 inches] long). In addition, megalodon possessed a ferocious bite; its bite diameter was 3 metres (about 9.8 feet), several times larger than the bite diameter of averaged ...
Dec 21, 2023 · A shark sheds up to 40,000 teeth in its lifetime – and megalodon, the greatest predator of them all, was no different. As this fearsome beast roamed the world's oceans between 4 and 20 million years ago, it dropped teeth that are still washing up on beaches, found sticking out of whale bones, or rising out of once-submerged landscapes.
Jan 5, 2024 · The gold-colored tooth, which is 2.7 inches (6.8 centimeters) long, was discovered more than 10,000 feet (3,090 meters) below the surface near the Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Remote Islands...
Dec 22, 2023 · Scientists have discovered the world's first preserved megalodon tooth in what would have been the extinct creature's natural habitat near Hawaii.
Almost all fossil remains of megalodon are teeth. Sharks continually produce teeth throughout their entire lives. Depending on what they eat, sharks lose a set of teeth every one to two weeks, getting through up to 40,000 teeth in their lifetime.
As the largest predator of the time, it ate a diverse array of prey including toothed and baleen whales, seals, sea cows, and sea turtles. As an opportunist, it also likely ate fish and other sharks. Many whale fossils have distinct gashes from megalodon teeth, and sometimes an entire megalodon tooth is found embedded in a whale bone ...
Aug 3, 2018 · Megalodon teeth have informed much of what scientists know of the creature, partially out of sheer abundance. Unlike humans, sharks cycle through teeth continuously, shedding 20,000 or more into...
Two fossilized teeth from a megalodon (Carcharodon megalodon) dating back more than 20 million years. Their teeth can reach a diagonal length of seven inches!
Mar 4, 2019 · Megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived, is known only from its gigantic bladelike teeth, which can be more than 7 inches long. But these teeth, described by some scientists as the “ultimate cutting tools,” took millions of years to evolve into their final, iconic form.
