Not only was Megalodon the biggest prehistoric shark that ever lived; it was the largest predatory marine creature in the history of our planet. This shark not only existed, but it hunted and swam throughout the ancient oceans- 1.5 million years ago before going extinct. Carcharodon Megalodon, the king of sharks, was named after it’s teeth. Carcharodon, in ancient greek, translates to “ragged tooth”, due to the serrations the teeth this family of shark equip in their mouths- designed to rip and tear through flesh. This shark had teeth as big as the palm of your hand, at about 7 inches long. Due to sharks having a cartilage skeletal system instead of a bone one like most vertebrates, fossilized evidence of shark “bones” is very hard to come by. But some vertebrae have been found. Fossils have been excavated from many parts of the world- including Europe, Africa, North and South America, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, The Canary Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malta, Grenadines, and India. Megalodon teeth have also been found in areas far from continental lands, including the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Due to fossil evidence being found nearly all over the world, we can assume that Megalodon was a cosmopolitan- it’s range encompasses the entire globe.most paleontologists propose that Megalodon, due to its ability to reach high speeds and great size, would prefer to hunt. Fossil evidence has found that Megalodon ate a large variety of fauna, including dolphins, porpoises, small and large whales, and even giant sea turtles that roamed the ancient oceans. During the late and Pliocene and Pleistocene eras, there were ice ages, which cooled the oceans. This is also cooled the Earth’s oceans, this cooling in turn impacted Megalodon, as it preferred warmer, tropical, waters, and as a result it may have declined in population until its ultimate extinction during the Pleistocene era. Competition, climate change, and decline in food supply are three theories to their decline.
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