Study Shows The Meg Could Swallow Modern Predators Whole

There is no question about it: Megalodon (Otodus megalodon) was a big shark. But just how big this super predator got has remained a point of contention among scientists. Why? Well, previous size estimates for this extinct shark have been based on fragmented remains we have available. Shark skeletons are made completely of cartilage, a flexible but tough tissue that isn’t known to fossilize well. This is why researchers rarely find intact specimens of ancient sharks, instead largely relying on scales and teeth to shed light on the sharks of the past.

While many can’t see the scientific merit in uncovering the secrets of our ancient oceans, the past can tell us a lot about our modern-day oceans and what the future might look like. Sharks are one of the only animals who have survived the numerous transitions our seas have undergone, with Megalodon once being “top predator” of our planet’s watery ecosystem. Now the star of many summer blockbusters, these behemoths roamed our oceans around 23 million to 2.6 million years ago. With fossilized teeth discovered on every continent except Antarctica (some measuring 18 centimeters long), there are many theories regarding their disappearance. From a changing climate to being outcompeted, there exists many mysterious around this shark.

Including it’s size. And size really matters here because it allows scientists to figure out what role they played back when they ruled our oceans. What sort of animals did they kill and eat? How many animals did they need to kill and eat in order to survive? What was the possible hunting strategy of this globetrotting super-predator?

While it was recently argued that Megalodons may have focused more on eating seals, dolphins, and small whales between 6.5-22.9 feet (2-7 meters) in length, a new paper reiterates what many of us knew in our gut: a big shark prefers a big meal. The team, led by scientist Jack A. Cooper, based their estimates on a 3-D model of the most complete Megalodon specimen currently known. Represented by a largely intact vertebral column held in a Belgian museum, the team quantified the predator’s total length, weight, and the size of its gape from this complete digital model. They also estimated the individual’s cruising speed, the volume of its stomach, its daily energetic demands and the rate at which it likely encountered prey.

Collating all of the data and running analysis on it, the researchers concluded that this particular Megalodon specimen probably measured around 52.4 ft (16 m) long and weighed more than 61 metric tons. “This is considerably larger than recent estimates of a mere 48 metric tons,” the team argued. “Based on other isolated fossil vertebrae, it’s likely the largest Megalodon grew to 20 meters in length. We further determined that the Belgian specimen’s maximum gape was around 5.9 ft (1.8 m) and that its stomach could have held 9.5 cubic meters of food.”

To put this into perspective, it means if this Megalodon was around today it would devour an orca (Orcinus orca) in five bites. Results from their analysis of energetics suggest that having eaten a big killer whale for breakfast, this Megalodon could have traveled around 4,350 miles (7,000 kilometers) before needing to feed again. “It could have swallowed a large great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) whole,” one of the researchers quipped. “Hypothetically, it could have eaten another iconic super-predator, the Tyrannosaurus rex, in just three bites!”

The new analysis also showed these predators could easily cruised at over 3.1 mi (5 km) per hour, shocking the team as this beats any current living sharks. “This predator could travel vast distances in short order, increasing prey encounter rates and allowing it to quickly move to take advantage of seasonal changes in prey abundance,” researcher and co-author Stephen Wroe concludes.

In short? Megalodon really was all that… and then some!