Unveiling the Megalodon: The Largest Shark to Ever Roam the Oceans

Megalodon, which means big tooth, suits this extinct species of shark perfectly. Absolutely massive sharks that once dominated the ocean, megalodons were among the largest and fiercest animals to have ever lived. So, just how big and fierce were they? Continue reading to discover 11 mind-blowing facts about megalodons. Let’s dive in!

1. Megalodons Are Possibly the Largest Shark or Fish That Ever Lived

Although their teeth are the only remnants of these colossal creatures, measurements derived from them have determined that megalodons were massive marine animals. Experts believe that megalodons are perhaps the largest shark species to have ever swum in the Earth’s oceans. Even among basilosaurids (ancient whales) and pliosaurs (ancient marine reptiles), megalodons hold their own.

Megalodons were also apex predators, meaning they were at the top of the food chain. Because of their massive size, what else could compete? While other large whales and sharks may have been their rivals, nothing came close to taking megalodons’ top spot.

2. Megalodons Were Four Times the Size of Today’s Great White Sharks

Just how big megalodons were is the subject of debate in the scientific community. While some studies have hypothesized that megalodons had a maximum length of up to 67 feet, other research indicates that the megalodon’s maximum size was closer to 50 to 52 feet. Even using the more conservative estimates, megalodon would have been over twice the size of the largest great white shark on record.

3. Megalodons Possibly Had the Most Powerful Bite of All Time

Because of their huge size, megalodons had huge teeth, which are apparent in photographs of their fossilized teeth. Experts believe that these ancient sharks may have had the most powerful bite of all time. A megalodon’s mouth was almost 10 feet wide, and while its teeth are shaped similarly to great white sharks’ teeth, a megalodon’s teeth are much bigger. A megalodon’s tooth, which could be around 7 inches long, is two to three times larger than that of a modern great white shark, whose teeth measure about three inches.

4. Megalodons Had 5 Times the Bite Force of Tyrannosaurus rex!

Thanks to breakthroughs in computer simulation, researchers have a better idea of how powerful a megalodon’s bite might have been. Recent 3-D computer analysis placed megalodon’s bite force at up to 182,201 newtons. That bite force is five times the bite force that scientists believe Tyrannosaurus rex was capable of. For even more perspective, that bite force would be almost exactly 10 times the bite force of the largest great white shark alive today!

5. Megalodons Had Nurseries for Their Babies

When it comes to megalodon babies, there are a lot of interesting facts to dig through. To begin, megalodons were thought to give birth closer to the shore to help keep their babies away from potential predators. In this way, megalodons created nurseries for their babies.

After birth, megalodon babies would remain in the area while their mother watched over them. This allowed the young sharks to learn how to hunt smaller fish before eventually progressing to larger prey. Once the babies got older and larger — and more capable of evading or defending against predators — they would leave these nurseries behind.

6. Megalodon Babies May Have Eaten Their Siblings Before Birth

Megalodon babies were born huge. On average, these babies are thought to have been about 6 feet long at birth. Because of their massive size, experts have concluded that it’s possible that megalodon babies ate their siblings while still in the womb. In this practice, called intrauterine cannibalism or oophagy, newly hatched embryos consume unhatched eggs, allowing them to grow substantially.

7. Female Megalodons Were Twice as Large as Males

Megalodons were massive sharks, and female megalodons could be up to two times as large as the average male megalodon. Females tended to be larger in both mass and length.

8. Megalodon Teeth Fossils Have Been Found on Every Continent – Except Antarctica 

Fossilized teeth are all that is left of the ancient megalodon. Researchers have been able to learn quite a lot from these teeth. Having found fossilized megalodon teeth in the oceans surrounding all of the present-day continents except Antarctica, scientists have determined that the megalodon was a wide-ranging marine animal.

9. Megalodons Are Possibly Extinct As a Result of Climate Change

After living for 20 million years, megalodons slowly began to die out and eventually became extinct. Most experts believe that this occurred when the Earth experienced climate change, in which the weather became much colder. Climate change may have also contributed to the extinction of fish that were staples of the megalodon’s diet. While it may never be completely understood exactly why, megalodons are now extinct.

10. A Supernova May Be To Blame for Megalodon Extinction

In 2018, the journal Astrobiology proposed that megalodons went extinct from a most unexpected source: a supernova 150 light years from Earth!

Astrobiology presented data that this supernova killed off 1/3 of the world’s large marine mammals. Why were they affected so disproportionately? In short, radioactivity from the supernova led to dramatically higher risks of cancer in larger animals. With animals not getting bigger than the megalodon, the species might have died off from cancer as a result of the supernova’s radiation, which cascaded across Earth.

11. Experts Don’t Believe that Megalodons Exist Today

About 74% of the ocean remains unmapped with modern high-resolution technology as of 2025. As a result, many believe there are countless species of marine life we have yet to encounter. Some have also theorized that megalodons could still exist in these unmapped locations.

While interesting to think about, experts don’t believe that megalodons exist today. They believe that such a massive animal would never be able to go undetected for very long, especially for over three million years. Plus, megalodons lived in warm water, and many of the deep, unexplored locations of the ocean are in colder temperatures!