Science Portal

If I were to ask you to name a giant fish, you would probably name the Great White Shark ("Carcharodon carcharias"). This shark grows to about 20 feet (6 meters) in length and is a fearsome predator. However the Great White Shark is minnow in comparison to one of the sharks of the prehistoric past, namely Carcharodon megalodon (usually simply known as "Megalodon").

Megalodon was the largest carnivorous fish in history. It would have easily dwarfed a Great White Shark - Megalodon could grow to a length of 50 feet (15 meters), and its jaws were so large that an adult human could have walked through its open mouth without even having to bend down. Additionally, the jaws were filled were four different kinds of fearsome teeth.

Megalodon lived in the oceans from the Miocene epoch to the Pleistocene epoch, between about 18 million years ago and 1.5 million years ago. Fossils of this fish have been found in most parts of the world, so it does seem that it was able to thrive almost everywhere (in part, no doubt, thanks to a warmer climate). That said, warm coastal regions do seem to be the animal's preferred breeding grounds.

Megalodon's diet is believed to have consisted of cetaceans (whales, porpoises and dolphins), sirenians (sea cows), pinnipeds (sea lions, seals, and other semi-aquatic animals), and probably, like other sharks, some fish as well. Whales were however probably Megalodon's most important prey - some whale skeletons have been found with bite marks that seem to be from Megalodon.