Megalodon: the truth about the largest shark that ever lived
Megalodon: the truth about the largest shark that ever lived As one of the largest predators to have ever lived, megalodon captures people's imagination - and for good reason. But was this apex predator simply a beefed-up great white shark, and is it still lurking in the dark depths of the ocean? Emma Bernard, who curates the Museum's fossil fish collection (including fossil sharks), helps separate fact from fiction. How big is a megalodon? The earliest megalodon fossils ( Otodus megalodon , previously known as Carcharodon or Carcharocles megalodon ) date to 20 million years ago. For the next 13 million years the enormous shark dominated the oceans until becoming extinct just 3.6 million years ago. O. megalodon was not only the biggest shark in the world, but one of the largest fish ever to exist. This giant shark is well-known for starring in the 2018 megalodon movie, The Meg. But in reality, these animals were a little shorter than the 23-met...