Researchers have long believed that megalodons were similar to great white sharks, but new research suggests a different picture. (Image credit: Baris-Ozer via Getty Images)
According to a new study, megalodons may have grown even larger than previously thought, reaching lengths of 80 feet (24.3 meters) – 15 feet (4.5 meters) longer than previous estimates.
Scientists say these giant sharks may have been slimmer than previously thought.
“Previous estimates based on the shark's size from its teeth suggested that its total length would be around 18-20 meters (59-65 feet),” study co-author Phillip Stearnes, an educator at SeaWorld San Diego, told Live Science in an email.
Megalodon ruled the ancient planet's seas from about 20 million to 3.6 million years ago. No complete skeletons of megalodon (Otodus megalodon) have ever been found, so our knowledge of these giants comes from fossils of their vertebrae, scales, and teeth. The largest megalodon fossil ever found is a 36-foot (11 m) fragment of its spine, which was likely inside its body.
In a new study published Sunday (March 9) in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica, scientists analyzed megalodon fossils and compared them with more than 150 modern and extinct shark species to create a more complete picture of the colossal creature's size.
The researchers compared the body proportions of megalodon with those of 145 modern and 20 extinct shark species.
Assuming that megalodon was roughly proportional to most other shark species, and based on a body length of 36 feet (11 m), scientists calculated that this specimen may have had a 6-foot-long (1.8 m) head and a 12-foot-long (3.6 m) tail, giving a total length of 54 feet (16.4 m).
However, the largest megalodon vertebra ever found measured up to 9 inches (23 centimeters) in diameter—3 inches (7.6 centimeters) larger than the largest vertebra of a 54-foot shark. If this larger vertebra were scaled up and based on the same proportions, the megalodon it belonged to would have been 80 feet long.
Researchers also found that megalodon could give birth to live young that were 12 to 13 feet (3.6 to 3.9 m) long.
Sourse: www.livescience.com
