28 Interesting Facts about Megalodons.

Thank you for stopping at Factsking.com for your Megalodon facts! Below are 28 interesting facts about Megalodon. If you are interested in these animal facts, don’t forget to check out our other animal facts! Because the Megalodon Shark has been extinct for millions of years, there is still a lot of research that needs to be done to learn as much as possible about these prehistoric sharks. However, below are a bunch of very interesting facts about the Megalodon shark that we know today!

 

 

Megalodon Extinction

1. The Megalodon is considered to be a prehistoric shark who lived in the waters for over 20 million years.
2. Researchers believe that the Megalodon Shark first started coming around in the Neogene Period, which started about 23 million years ago.
3. It is believed that the Megalodon became extinct around 2.6 million years ago.
4. Today, the Megalodon is considered to be extinct, however, there are fishermen who believe they have seen the species in the waters.
5. Researchers believe that the Megalodon became extinct not only because the oceans began to cool but also because they lacked a food supply.
6. Other researchers claim that the Megalodon perished during the Pilocene Epoch, along with about a third of other marine life.
7. While finding bones to the Megalodon isn’t common, it also isn’t rare. Other than teeth, researchers have found a whole fossilized spinal column to the Megalodon which included 150 vertebrae.
8. Other than Megalodon bones, researchers have also dug up a Megalodon’s poop.

 

Facts about Megalodon Diet

9. In order to sustain its life, researchers believe that the Megalodon had to eat at least of ton of food per day.
10. It is believed that because of its large size, the Megalodon would have stuck to other large marine animals for food, such as whales, smaller sharks, and sea lions.

 

Megalodon Size

11. Megalodon has very large teeth that reach a length of seven inches.
12. Megalodon is still considered to be the largest sharks who have ever lived in the waters of this world.
13. Scientists believe that they would grow between 40 to 59 feet in length. This is about three times the size of the Great White shark.
14. The Baby Megalodon teeth were about 1 ½ inches in length.

 

Facts about Megalodon Characteristics

15. The most common fossil people have found that once belonged to a Megalodon are the teeth.
16. To date, no other animal or mammal has had a powerful bite like the Megalodon as researchers believe this animal had a bite force of around 24,000 to 40,000 pounds or 10,900 to 18,100 kilograms. This is about six to ten times greater than the bite of a Great White Shark.
17. The average Megalodon’s mouth held five rows of teeth, which included around 276 teeth total.

 

Megalodon Behaviors

18. The Megalodon would give birth to their offspring in shallow waters.
19. The hunting style of the Megalodon different from many sharks today. When they Megalodon attacked their food, they would bite off the fins first.
20. The Megalodon’s behavior is often compared to the behavior of the Great White Shark, however, the Megalodon is known to have been much more intimidating than the Great White Shark.

 

Megalodon Threats

21. Today it is hard to think of any animals being a threat to the Megalodon, but there were other large animals that are not extinct which were a threat, such as the very huge Sperm Whale.

 

Megalodon Habitat

22. Baby Megalodon would have grown up in tropical nurseries.
23. The Megalodon did not stick to just one area on of the world, instead, the lived in several warm-water climates all over.
24. Scientists believe that the Megalodon Shark never lived in Antarctica because the waters would have been too cold.

 

Megalodon Family

25. The scientific name for the Megalodon is Carcharocles megalodon or Carcharodon megalodon.
26. There are some researchers who say that the Megalodon is related to the Great White Shark and others who state that the Megalodon and Great White are in two different families. However, no one can deny the similarities between the Great White and the Megalodon shark.
27. It is believed that when the Megalodon gave birth, they produced live young and did not lay eggs like many other marine animals.

 

Owners of Megalodon Bones

28. It is believed that the third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson owned a Megalodon tooth.

 

I hope that these facts about Megalodon were helpful! If you want to see facts about other animals, visit animal facts page!