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Megalodon when he lived. Megalodon – fossil shark

Most ichthyologists believe that the fearsome white sharks, called “megalodon,” have long since become extinct. However, there are theories and facts that suggest that the submarine shark (as this subspecies of white sharks is nicknamed) still lives somewhere out there, in the abyss of the ocean depths, inaccessible to humans. Let's try to understand this issue based on the records of scientists, their findings and theories.

The Story of David George Stead

David George Stead was one of the most famous and respected scientists in the field of ichthyology. It was his story, published after his death, that became a real sensation and made it possible to doubt what does not exist.

In 1918, the young scientist worked in Australia and was responsible for commercial fishing on the Southern Shores. At this time from major port V government agency, who is responsible for the fishery, receives a letter demanding a thorough check of one sensitive issue. The fishermen claimed that off the coast of Australia there was a terrible creature, an unknown fish of such threatening size that they were all afraid to go out to sea.

A terrible meeting

A heartbreaking story awaited him on the shore... The fishermen on the ship went out to sea and went to the place where lobster traps were fixed in the depths. The divers, having descended into the depths in order to unhook the cables of the traps, rose to the top with incredible speed. Quickly climbing onto the deck, they reported that there was a huge shark in the depths. Divers said that the shark easily swallowed the traps with the catch one after another. But they were secured with steel cables! And it didn’t bother her at all. Suddenly the shark appeared before the eyes of the rest of the fishing team. Forgetting about the catch, they quickly started the engines and left the terrible place.

Of course, as a scientist, David George Stead understood that sharks with a body length of more than thirty meters could not exist. But there was no point in lying to the frightened fishermen. No one then decided to go and check and get any evidence. The fishermen flatly refused to go out to sea.

Vessel "Rachel Cohen"

After several decades, the submarine shark (as the fishermen called it for its incredible size) made itself known again. In 1954, again off the coast of Australia, for repairs and “ general cleaning"The ship "Rachel Cohen" stopped at the port. When the ship was cleared of numerous shells, seventeen huge teeth were discovered. Each tooth, according to eyewitnesses, was more than eight centimeters in size. Scientists have determined that they could not belong to anyone other than the megalodon shark. For reference: the length of a regular white shark's tooth is only three to five centimeters.

Nature has never created more terrible creatures

According to scientists, it is the most terrible, bloodthirsty and terrifying creation of Mother Nature. It is estimated that its length ranges from twenty to thirty-five meters, and its weight varies from fifty to one hundred tons. Sperm whales, considered one of the most large inhabitants depths of the sea, - it's simple snack for megalodon. It’s hard to even imagine the size of a submarine shark’s mouth when a ten-meter-long whale is easy everyday prey for dinner.

Scientists have been finding huge teeth all over the world for many decades. This is further evidence that White shark-the submarine exists and has (had) an incredible territorial size of settlement.

It’s even scary to imagine a monster of such enormous size, in comparison with which a person is just a small grain of sand. The submarine shark, a photo of which scientists have recreated thanks to findings and theories, is a terribly ugly creature. It has a broad-boned skeleton, massive jaws containing five rows of teeth and a blunt “snout.” They even joke that megalodon looks like a pig. You involuntarily begin to rejoice that these creatures are extinct.

Are they extinct?

Geologists recognize animals as extinct only when there is no “news” about them for 400 thousand years. However, stories from fishermen from an Australian port, teeth found on the Rachel Cohen ship - all this proves the fact that the submarine shark exists. The teeth were subjected to numerous studies, and the result was that they belonged to a megalodon.

Moreover, the discovered “teeth” of the terrible giant did not even have time to really petrify. They are at most ten to eleven thousand years old. Understand the difference: 400 thousand and 11 thousand years! It turns out that somewhere in the depths of the ocean, a white shark-submarine still exists and feels great. Evidence of the existence of which is discovered quite often. And this already says something.

By the way, for example, the goblin shark, which was considered extinct for many years, was discovered in 1897 in the World Ocean. And the existence of which was also not believed for a long time, was found in 1828. Perhaps there is a shark submarine somewhere waiting in the wings.

How were they not noticed?

It would seem that such a huge size of an animal simply cannot go unnoticed for decades. Huge creatures would certainly be seen from the shore, in the shallows or from the stern of the ship. But if you think about it, the impressive dimensions of these giants simply do not allow them to swim close to the shore. It's too shallow for them here.

In addition, a submarine shark can easily exist in the depths of the sea. For example, the largest animals - sperm whales - live quietly at a depth of three kilometers. A person cannot reach such a depth, even despite the development of modern ones. Such depths are simply not yet available to us. And if you compare the sizes of sperm whales and submarine sharks, the latter clearly win. Consequently, the depth of their immersion can be much greater than the “simple” three kilometers.

Ecology

These amazing animals have a reputation for being ferocious. Their size, strength and huge jaws inspire fear and admiration.

Although only a few people are killed by sharks each year, films and media mass media Sharks are often depicted as voracious killing machines.

Here are some of the strangest and scariest looking sharks, living and already extinct.

1. Sawnose shark

There are seven known species sawn sharks, which are characterized by an elongated snout with teeth. They should not be confused with sawfish, which are related to stingrays, although sharks themselves are also fish. They swim along the ocean floor and use their snout exactly as you'd imagine: striking their prey crosswise to incapacitate them. Saw sharks feed on squid, crustaceans and small fish. They look much scarier than they really are.

2. Giant shark

Giant shark(Cetorhinus maximus) is the second largest of all living shark species after the whale shark. It usually grows up to 6-8 meters in length, and some representatives can reach 12 meters in length. The width of its mouth, which it holds open when swimming, can reach 1 meter. The open mouth allows this shark to filter the plankton, crustaceans and small fish that it encounters as it swims.

3. Hammerhead shark

There is around 8-9 different types hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna), which were named because of their unusual shape. Scientists believe that the distance between the eyes gave these sharks something of an advantage: they can see 360 degrees vertically. They can easily see what's going on behind them by turning their head slightly, and they have excellent binocular vision. Hammerhead sharks can judge distances using vision alone. They also differ from other sharks in that they swim in schools and can tan when exposed to sunlight.

4. Pelagic megamouth shark

The largemouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) was first discovered in 1976. It is a filter feeder with very small teeth, but swims with its mouth wide open to scoop up jellyfish and plankton. The pelagic largemouth shark is a rare animal and is not often seen. There are only 41 confirmed sightings of these sharks, including a recent incident largemouth shark caught and eaten by fishermen from the Philippines.

5. Fox Shark

fox shark(Alopiidae) is distinguished by a long upper caudal fin, which makes up half the total length of the shark. The fox shark feeds on small fish and sometimes uses its tail fin to force fish into tight spaces so they can be more easily eaten. They can also stun fish with a powerful blow from their fin. As a rule, they reach 3-4.5 meters in length, but can grow up to 6 meters, although half of their length is the caudal fin.

6 Frilled Shark

The frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) is very similar to the image of the sea serpent of ancient times. In fact, these sharks are not that big, with a length of only 1.5 meters. Frilled sharks are very flexible and can move in ways that are not typical for a shark. When she opens her mouth, she looks quite scary. However, people rarely see her as she prefers to hunt in the depths of the ocean.

7. Cigar or glow shark

The cigar shark (Isistius brasiliensis) got its due strange name for the habit of biting off pieces of prey meat, twisting the victim's body in a circular motion. It's just that the fish it bites into are too big to eat whole. The cigar shark is only 50 cm long, but it can bite into whales, submarines and people. She has a small bioluminescent spot on her body that makes others think she is much more small fish than she really is, while the cigar shark lurks in the dark.

8. Goblin Shark

The goblin shark, or goblin shark as it is also called, is a species of deep-sea shark that is rarely seen. It is an ancient species even by shark standards. She has an unusually long snout, which might seem to make it difficult for her to eat. However, she has another advantage: her jaws can extend far.

9. Helicoprion

Although very little is known about them, Helicoprion is a very strange-looking fish that lived 280-225 million years ago. Distinctive feature This shark is a dental helix. In modern sharks, teeth grow throughout their lives, and old ones fall out. Ancient sharks had old teeth along with new ones. In some species, old teeth were moved onto the face to make room for teeth in the jaw. In helicoprions, these teeth were wrapped in a circle.

10. Megalodon

As far as is known, the megalodon (Carcharocles megalodon) was one of the largest sharks in existence. They grew up to 18 meters in length and ate more than a ton of food per day. The word megalodon from Greek means " big tooth", which is quite consistent with these creatures, whose bite was stronger than that of a Tyrannosaurus rex. Megalodons lived from 25 to 1 million years ago, although they can still be seen in some films and in our worst nightmares.

The megalodon's skeleton was made of cartilage rather than bone, so very few remains have survived to this day. Megalodon teeth are the largest fish teeth. Their length reached 18 cm. Among all known sea creatures No one else has such huge teeth. The most similar teeth are those of the white shark, but they are much smaller (3 times). A complete skeleton was not found, only vertebrae. The most famous discovery of a vertebral column belonging to a megalodon was made in Belgium in 1929.

Megalodon remains have been found all over to the globe, even in the famous Mariana Trench at a depth of more than 10 km. Its ubiquity suggests that it was a super predator that lived where it wanted and was at the top of the food chain everywhere.

Megalodon's teeth are so huge that for a long time they were mistaken for the remains of dragons or giant sea serpents. It was only in 1667 that the naturalist Niels Stensen suggested that dragon “stone tongues” were the teeth of a huge shark. The predator took its position in the scientific classification in the mid-19th century. under the name Carcharodon megalodon . Since the megalodon's teeth closely resemble those of the Great White Shark, it was assigned to the same genus Carcharodon, where he remained until the mid-1960s. At first, the Belgian researcher E. Cazier proposed moving Megalodon into a separate genus Procarcharodon, and then the Soviet scientist L. Glickman transferred the predator to the genus Megaselachus. However, Glickman noticed that megalodon teeth come in two types - with jagged edges and without jagged edges. Until 1987, “smooth” and “serrated” teeth moved from one genus to another, until the French scientist and ichthyologist A Capetta assigned Megalodon and its closest species neighbors (with jagged edges) to the genus Carcharocles megalodon. Currently, this classification is accepted by the scientific community.

Megalodon dimensions

Megalodon most closely resembled a great white shark. Since no well-preserved skeleton has been found, scientists can judge its size based on the morphology of the white shark and drawing parallels between the animals. There are several options for calculating the size of a megalodon. Most methods determine the length of an animal based on the calculated proportion between the predator's body and its teeth. Presumably, the body length of the megalodon varied from 13 m (according to J. E. Randall’s method) to 16 m (Gottfried’s method). Some scientists believe that the animal could reach even large sizes- 25-30 m.

Body weight could reach 47 tons. This makes megalodon the largest fish of all. known to science fish

Megalodon habits

The habits of the megalodon are judged by the found remains of its victims, as well as by the habits of modern large carnivorous sharks. He hunted cetaceans, sperm whales, dolphins, porpoises, and various pinnipeds. It was a superpredator, the victims of which could be any animal at all, although the size of the megalodon implies that it hunted large fish and mammals. The main diet was occupied by cetaceans - bones with traces of megalodon bites were often found among the fossil remains of whales. It is not difficult to identify a megalodon bite - it is huge in size and with characteristic scratches left by the jagged edges of sharp teeth. Sometimes scientists find whale bones with megalodon teeth stuck in them.

Sharks usually attack their prey in vulnerabilities, but megalodon apparently acted somewhat differently. The remains of some megalodon victims showed that the predator rammed its prey. Scientists believe that this is how he broke bones and damaged internal organs victims. After this, the immobilized victim was devoured by the predator. Even if the megalodon’s prey was large, the shark always tried to first deprive it of its ability to move, biting off its fins and tail, and only after that it killed and ate it.

Extinction

The reason for the extinction of the predator is not fully known. Scientists have several hypotheses for the extinction of megalodon.

Decrease in water temperature of the world's oceans. 15-17 million years ago, glaciations in the northern hemisphere and blocking of the sea strait between the Northern and South America led to a drop in temperature on the planet. Growing glaciers also led to a drop in the water level of the world's oceans. Fossil remains confirm that as water levels dropped and temperatures dropped, the megalodon's habitat moved to warmer regions. The breeding and feeding grounds of basking sharks were also affected.
Hunger. By the end of the Miocene, most species of baleen whales became extinct. Namely, baleen whales constituted the main diet of megalodon. The surviving species of whales were better adapted to existing habitat conditions, were faster and preferred cool waters. It was difficult for the megalodon to hunt them, and there was no suitable prey to satisfy its colossal appetite.
Competition with predatory whales. The emergence of flocks carnivorous mammals, which successfully competed with megalodon. The famous killer whales turned out to be more successful hunters. They were faster, hunted all large sea animals, and they themselves were practically invulnerable due to their great speed and intelligence.

Scientists believe that all three factors led to the death of the giant. Cooling of the ocean and lack of nutrition played a significant role in the death of the megalodon, and against the background of this, newly emerging predators finally replaced the significantly thinned ranks of megalodons.

Megalodon is the subject of much speculation that it still exists in the deepest and most remote parts of the world's oceans. Among ordinary people deep-sea trenches and the gutters are considered almost the official homeland of megalodon, and at the same time other sea giants, for example Dunkleosteus. “Documentary” films are made, photographs and stories of “eyewitnesses” are published. All these materials are quickly becoming very popular among viewers and readers. But none of them scientific institutes will never confirm the authenticity of such “facts”. Officially, this predator is considered extinct. In the entire history of mankind, the remains of a megalodon whose age would be younger than 1.5 million years have not been found. And this shark is simply too big to remain invisible.

Although the official position of the scientific community does not stop the “researchers”. Some generally consider the results of a survey among students to be a convincing basis for the existence of megalodon.

The megalodon shark, whose photo is often published in publications for naturalists, was one of the largest and most dangerous underwater predators. For more than 14 million years, she was the rightful ruler of the seas and oceans of our planet. However, almost 1.6 million years ago, the huge megalodon shark mysteriously disappeared. Only its younger and smaller relative remained on Earth - the white shark, which even today evokes mixed feelings - admiration, curiosity, fear.

External features

A wide skull, short snout and huge jaws - the giant predator resembled a huge pig. Interestingly, the skeleton of the megalodon shark consisted not of bones, but of cartilage. Teeth large size For a long time, researchers mistook large dragons or snakes for bones.

Reconstructions

Unfortunately, complete remains ancient shark not preserved in the world, with the exception of teeth and vertebrae. For this reason, one can judge what the megalodon shark looked like only by reconstructions of this creature, which scientists resort to when comparing ancient predator with a great white shark.

The first such attempt was made by the Museum (USA) at the very beginning of the 20th century. The jaw he recreated exceeded three meters, and the size of the megalodon shark, according to scientists, was about 30 meters. This is an impressive figure.

In 1973, J. E. Randall, in the course of his research, concluded that the size of the megalodon shark reached 13 meters. Research continued.

In 1996, M.D. Gottfried and a group of scientists came to the conclusion that the ancient megalodon shark had a body length of 16 to 20 meters and its weight was 47 tons.

Megalodon habits

There is an opinion that these underwater predators feed on small prey. However, the megalodon shark (photo posted in this article) due to its gigantic size, incredibly strong and powerful jaws and teeth preferred to feed on larger prey. The discovered remains give scientists reason to claim that ancient predators fed on cetaceans - bowhead whales, sperm whales, dolphins, cetotheriums, sirenians, porpoises, sea turtles.

Today, a huge number of whale bones have been discovered, on which traces of deep scratches are clearly visible, as if left by large teeth. Researchers are confident that such traces were left by megalodon teeth. Moreover, the teeth themselves were discovered next to many of these remains.

Hunting

Typically, sharks are predators that use a complex hunting strategy. Megalodon was an exception in this sense: due to its gigantic body size, it was not capable of developing too high a speed, and its reserve of endurance was rather limited. Researchers are confident that the megalodon shark hunted using ambushes, patiently waiting for the prey to approach. Versions have been put forward that this predator could go for a ram, and then it killed and ate the prey. B. Kent is sure that such large and powerful teeth ancient fish were capable of breaking bones and damaging the vital organs of their victims.

Causes of extinction

It is generally accepted that the megalodon shark became extinct several million years ago. Experts disagree about this event - from 1.6 to 3 million years ago. Scientists believe the main reason for the disappearance of these giants is lack of food and competition with other animals. In addition, the cause of the extinction of the megalodon shark could have been global change climate. Why?

Cetaceans that inhabited the warm shallow waters of shelf seas were the basis of the diet of the megalodon monster shark. During the cooling period (in the Pliocene), the water was bound by glaciers, and the shelf seas disappeared. The water in the oceans became colder, which could not but affect the megalodons.

Another one of probable causes Experts call their extinction the appearance on the planet of toothed whales - the ancestors of today's killer whales. These animals had more developed brain and lived in large flocks. The huge size of megalodons did not allow them to maneuver in the water, so, most likely, they were attacked by killer whales.

Megalodon in the 21st century

It may seem incredible, but some scientists from different countries The world is convinced that the megalodon shark is not extinct, and its descendants still live on our planet today. In support of this statement, they cite some facts that seem controversial to the majority of the scientific world. They believe that due to the fact that no more than 10% of the world's oceans have been explored these days, it is possible that ancient sharks are hiding in yet unexplored parts.

In 2014, several orbital complexes from several countries recorded large underwater objects located at a relatively low level. great depths near the island of Papua (New Guinea). These objects had a number of features:

they did not have shapes and dimensions that would correspond to one or another military means;
were not too active and periodically completely immersed themselves in ocean depths;
for ordinary biological forms they were too big;
long time lurked in the depths, which denies the version of their analogy with whales.

Scientists have come to the same opinion on this issue, although they express it rather cautiously: these unusual objects, in their behavior and shape, can be sharks of gigantic size. Nowadays, no great white shark has reached more than 16 meters in length. Therefore, with a high degree of probability, the discovered objects can be considered descendants of the megalodon shark. In addition, they were discovered near the Mariana Trench - a place where ancient sharks supposedly lived.

In addition, paleontologists and ichthyologists discovered the remains of a predator that did not have time to completely fossilize. Supporters of the idea of preserving this giant believe that this shark can only live on great depth. It is supplied with oxygen by its gills, so it can be quite comfortable at great depths.

Death of large whales

Cases of deaths of very large whales in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans also support the controversial argument for the survival of megalodon. Several times a year, military and industrial sailors discover the bodies of dead whales surrounded by schools of sharks. Twice in similar situations, scientists were able to partially study these carcasses, determining the cause of death of the animals. And in both episodes, amazing reasons were discovered - the animals died from the bites of giant jaws.

The shapes of these bites corresponded to the structure of the shark's jaws, but had a slight difference - the third upper tooth did not belong to a white shark, it was identified as a tooth from the extinct megalodon shark.

Whale shark Megalodon, before killing its prey, cut off its fin. This deprived the victim of the opportunity to escape.
Computer simulations confirm scientists' theory that the hunting style of megalodon is strikingly different from modern white sharks.
The classification of megalodon still causes a lot of discussion in the scientific community. Some of its representatives claim that the giant’s closest relative may well be the white shark, which has a similar body structure and some behavioral characteristics. Other paleontologists do not share this point of view. They claim that external resemblance megalodon and white shark is associated with evolutionary processes - the tendency of dissimilar organisms to acquire similar forms, developing in similar conditions.
Megalodon teeth, as we have already said, were considered stones for a long time. Thousands of shark teeth fall out over the course of the lives of these predators, and new ones grow in their place. The teeth of this ancient shark were discovered around the world centuries ago. But it was only in the 17th century that the physician Nicholas Steno identified unusual sea stones like shark teeth. For this reason, some historians give Steno the title of the world's first paleontologist.
Unlike most sharks, as well marine reptiles Cenozoic and Mesozoic era, whose habitat was limited to coastlines or inland rivers and lakes of individual continents, megalodon was distributed globally, attacking and destroying whales in warm waters oceans almost all over the world. Researchers are confident that the only deterrent from approaching coastal zone adults were their enormous size, making them completely helpless in shallow water.
Although there are many versions, real reasons Megalodon extinctions are not known. It was the largest, ruthless and extremely dangerous apex predator of the Miocene and Pliocene eras. Perhaps these giant monsters were killed by global cooling during the last ice age or the disappearance of the huge whales that formed the bulk of their diet.
Megalodon possessed the most powerful force bite. In 2008, a team of scientists from the United States and Australia conducted computer simulations to determine the bite power of megalodon. The results amazed even experienced paleontologists. If a modern white shark is capable of clenching its jaws with a force of up to 1.8 tons, then the victims of the megalodon had to experience a bite with a force of 10.8 to 18.2 tons. This was quite enough to crush the skull of a huge prehistoric whale. This bite was significant stronger than the bite famous tyrannosaurus.

Let's sum it up

The giant shark left many secrets and mysteries that paleontologists have yet to solve. It is likely that scientists will be able to shed light on the life of the mysterious predators and find out the reason for their disappearance. Perhaps the descendants of these sharks still live in the depths of the ocean today? Sooner or later, all these secrets will be revealed.

Niramin - Oct 12th, 2015

Megalodon is the largest shark in the world, roaming the ocean in prehistoric times. Scientists judge what she was like from her few fossilized remains - vertebrae and teeth. It’s not the size of the fish that amazes: the most big shark was no more than 30 m in length, which is similar to the size of a blue whale.

Megalodon was merciless brutal killer, who hunted in the shallow waters of the seas and oceans. The superpredator fed on large prey - whales, dolphins, sharks.

Theorists believe that the last monster shark went extinct more than a million years ago. But its existence is still shrouded in deep mystery. One thing is undeniable - the remains of a shark larger than megalodon have never been found.

The megalodon's mouth is more than 2 m. The predator's teeth are cone-shaped, 18 cm in height, with serrations. There are 276 teeth in the mouth, arranged in 5 rows.

The predator did not rush at the prey with its mouth open. He developed enormous speed and pushed, stunning her. The blows were fatal. The shark immobilized large prey, such as whales, by biting off its fins.

Scientists keep information about the existence of the shark secret. But from the leaked information it follows that megalodons are alive, their immunity has become invulnerable, and their aggression has doubled.

Japanese fishermen were attacked by the monster. A similar meeting was described by David Stead, a famous Australian ichthyologist. According to him, the length of the attacking shark was more than 35 m, and its head was the size of the roof of a port shed.

Everything is ambiguous. The secret of the megalodon, which leads a deep-sea lifestyle, is kept by the world's oceans.

See what Megalodon looked like: