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Megalodon

Say it: MEG-uh-luh-don

Name means: “big tooth”1

Ate: MeatPrehistoric legendsCenozoic, the age of mammalsNot a dinosaur, but a prehistoric legend

Megalodon was a giant shark that lived millions of years ago. It had teeth as big as a human hand and could eat whales! It was one of the biggest and scariest ocean hunters ever.1

This one is not a dinosaur, but it is one of the most famous animals of prehistoric times, so it gets a place in Dino Wiki too.

Lived

23 to 3.6 million years ago1

Cenozoic, the age of mammals

Fossils found in

Fossils have been found all over the world, including in the United States, Japan, Panama, Venezuela, Peru, and France.6

Food

Meat1

Length

15 to 24.3 m2

most scientists say about 15 to 18 metres; the very biggest may have reached about 24 metres

Weight

up to 94 tonnes2

When did it live?

Before the dinosaurs

Age of dinosaurs

Age of mammals

400 million years ago25266today

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 16 elephants

as long as 5 cars parked in a rowas long as 140 bananas end to endas heavy as 19000 watermelons

How big was Megalodon compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Megalodon teeth can be up to 16 centimetres tall, and some might have been even 20 centimetres. That is bigger than a human hand!2

Megalodon probably gave birth to live young, and baby megalodons were already about 3.6 to 3.9 metres long at birth.2

Megalodon had a huge appetite. It ate dolphins, small whales, seals, sea turtles, and even other sharks.1

Megalodon used nursery areas in warm, shallow coastal waters to raise its young, where there was lots of food and fewer predators.1

Megalodon was once thought to be a close relative of the great white shark, but scientists now think it belonged to a different, extinct family called Otodontidae.1

Megalodon probably swam at a cruising speed of about 2.1 to 3.5 kilometres per hour, which is a slow, steady pace for such a big shark.2

AI-made picture of Megalodon — An AI-made picture of how Megalodon might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Megalodon

?How big was megalodon?

Scientists estimate megalodon grew up to 15 to 18 metres (49 to 59 feet) long, which is about three times longer than the largest great white shark.3 1

?When did megalodon go extinct?

Megalodon went extinct about 3.6 million years ago, at the end of the Pliocene epoch. The planet cooled, which reduced its habitat and food supply.3 1

?What did megalodon eat?

Megalodon ate meat, mostly whales, dolphins, seals, sea turtles, and other sharks. It was an apex predator that could bite through the chest of a whale.3 4

?Could megalodon still be alive today?

No, megalodon is extinct and has been for millions of years. The ocean is too cold now, and there is no evidence of a living megalodon.3 1

?How big were megalodon teeth?

Megalodon teeth can be up to 18 centimetres (7 inches) tall, which is bigger than a human hand. The word megalodon means 'big tooth'.3 5

?Was megalodon bigger than a blue whale?

No, the largest blue whale is about 30 metres long, while megalodon was up to 24.3 metres. So blue whales are bigger.3

?Is megalodon a dinosaur?

No, megalodon is not a dinosaur. It was a giant prehistoric shark that lived in the ocean, long after the dinosaurs died out.1

?How fast could megalodon swim?

Megalodon probably cruised at a slow speed of about 2.1 to 3.5 kilometres per hour (1.3 to 2.2 mph). It was not a fast swimmer.3

?Where did megalodon live?

Megalodon lived in warm oceans all over the world, except near the poles. Its teeth have been found on every continent except Antarctica.3 5

?How strong was megalodon's bite?

Megalodon had one of the strongest bites ever, with a force of up to 182,200 newtons (40,960 pounds). That is powerful enough to crush a whale's bones.1 5

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think megalodon is still alive today in the deep ocean.

Truth: Megalodon went extinct about 3.58 million years ago. Scientists have found no evidence that it lives today.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Otodus megalodon
Named by: (Agassiz 1835)6
Group: Prehistoric legends
Family / clade: Otodontidae6
Classification: Chondrichthyes > Lamniformes > Otodontidae6
Age of the rocks: 66 to 0.3 million years (Danian / Chibanian)6
Rock formations: Pisco, Temblor, Calvert6
Countries: USA, Japan, Panama, Venezuela, Peru, France6
Fossil records: 350 in the Paleobiology Database6
Discovery: Swiss naturalist Louis Agassiz named megalodon in 1835. He studied fossil teeth and gave it the scientific name Carcharias megalodon, which means 'big tooth'.1
Still debated: Scientists still debate the exact size and body shape of megalodon. Some think it was long and slender, while others think it was bulkier like a great white shark.2

Where the facts come from

Megalodon (en.wikipedia.org)
Reassessment of the possible size, form, weight, cruising speed, and growth parameters of the extinct megatooth shark, Otodus megalodon (Lamniformes: Otodontidae), and new evolutionary insights into its gigantism, life history strategies, ecology, and extinction (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Megalodon: The truth about the largest shark that ever lived | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Megalodon, Otodus megalodon - The Australian Museum (australian.museum)
The Megalodon | Smithsonian Ocean (ocean.si.edu)
Megalodon in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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