10 Fascinating Facts About Megalodons

The mighty megalodon is the most famous prehistoric shark, a huge predator that roamed the oceans from 23 to 2.6 million years ago. They gave us some of the longest shark teeth in the world, with fossil evidence showing that the largest teeth were around seven inches long. Megalodons were fierce apex predators that would have preyed on a variety of fish and marine mammals. But that’s not all there is to know about these mighty sharks, so check out these incredible megalodon facts that we have for you!

1. Megalodons Died Off Before Humans Existed

Megalodons lived from 23 to 2.6 million years ago, meaning that they became extinct before the first humans appeared on Earth. The early hominids in Africa appeared around two million years ago, and the first modern humans (Homo sapiens) appeared approximately 300,000 years ago.

2. Megalodon Teeth Have Been Found In Southern California

Shark teeth, particularly megalodon teeth, can be found in the Sharktooth Hill Bone Bed in the deserts of Southern California. The region also features fossils of other marine animals like turtles, sea cows, and whales. Megalodon’s skeleton was mostly cartilage, and cartilage doesn’t fossilize well, so it’s impossible to find a whole megalodon fossil. However, shark teeth are made primarily from dentin and enameloid, which means they are much firmer and fossilize well. This, combined with the fact that sharks lose and replace hundreds of teeth in their lifetime, means that fossils of shark teeth, including megalodon teeth, are fairly common.

3. They Were Gigantic Due to an Abundance of Large Prey

At the close of the Mesozoic era, mountain ranges started to build and erode into the oceans, supplying vast quantities of nutrients that expanded the number of plants in the waters. The abundance of huge marine mammals, the megalodon’s preferred prey, was also a result of this increase in plants and algae. The marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, seals, and manatees, developed to become larger due to the quantity of food, and the megatoothed sharks kept up with this growth in size.

4. Megalodons Had Hundreds of Teeth

Just like modern sharks, megalodons had numerous rows of teeth which were ready to move forward and replace the front row as teeth were lost. Each megalodon jaw contained five rows of enormous, serrated teeth. Their mouth was huge and contained around 275 teeth. They also kept growing new teeth, so thousands of teeth were lost and replaced during their lifetime. Scientists believe their teeth’s tensile strength was enhanced by the connective tissue threads holding them in place.

5. Their Estimated Size is Based Mostly on Their Teeth

Without a complete skeleton to work with, scientists had to extrapolate the megalodon’s size from the proportion of its jaw and backbone to its teeth. Researchers estimated extinct sharks’ size based on living sharks’ proportions. Estimates suggest that the megalodons reached lengths of between 47 and 80 feet.

6. Megalodons Have The Largest Shark Teeth Ever Found

The massive size of a megalodon’s teeth is the most striking feature of this creature. Teeth from fully grown megalodons can be approximately seven inches long. The megalodon’s teeth were three to five times longer than the great white shark’s.

7. Megalodon Teeth Were Once Thought to Be Fossilized Dragon Tongues

Many of the Renaissance population thought megalodon teeth were dragon remains, specifically the tongue. The aristocrats wore these “tongue stones,” also known as glossopetrae, as pendants and lucky charms. According to legend, they even used the teeth to heal sickness and snakebites.

8. They Were Once All Around The World

Megalodons once thrived in the warmer coastal waters, although they were not location-specific. The sharks were truly global citizens, making their homes in oceans across the planet. Megalodon fossils can be found on every continent except Antarctica, where the climate was too cold for the sharks to live.

9. Climate Change Was Thought to Play a Role In Their Extinction

As the ice age approached, megalodon sharks disappeared. One hotly contested megalodon fact is that they might have perished in the frigid temperatures. Scientists originally believed that because sharks love warm waters, they could not have survived the chilly temperatures or kept up with the whales that migrated to cooler waters. The warmer waters where their young thrived may not have been the best environment for the juvenile sharks on Earth due to their colder climate.

10. They Likely Died Off Due to a Lack of Food Source

Many megalodons probably starved to death. They had fierce competition for food, and a sizable portion of their food source vanished before them. As the seas cooled and prey became less abundant, megalodons faced greater competition for the prey that was available. Megalodons required a vast amount of food to maintain their big bodies, but they could not do so since food was becoming more scarce.