Does the giant shark megalodon still exist?
(Baonghean.vn) - Megalodon, a giant fish with a length of more than 20 m that lived in the oceans millions of years ago, does it exist somewhere in deep waters that humans have not yet explored? That is the question that many people ask after watching movies about the animal that once ruled the ocean.
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| Does the giant megalodon shark still exist like in the movies? Photo: Warner Bros. |
Teeth longer than 15cm from the megalodon, once mistaken for those of a medieval dragon, are still found on some Victorian beaches in South Australia.
Scientists say a megalodon's jaws were larger than a man when opened. Weighing between 50 and 100 tons, the megalodon lived in oceans around the world 25 million years ago before disappearing about 1.5 million years ago.
However, many people still question whether humans are completely sure that this most terrible predator has really disappeared from the oceans?
Back in the 17th century, humans first realized that there was a giant shark living in the oceans by comparing what they thought were dragon teeth with those of modern sharks. Since then, more discoveries have been made and theories have been put forward about the megalodon’s ability to survive to this day.
In 1918, a megalodon was allegedly sighted off the coast of Port Stephens, Australia. The rumors caused panic among lobster fishermen, who decided not to go to sea for weeks. In the 2000s, shark expert Bernard Seurat discovered a megalodon tooth while dredging sediment off the coast of New Caledonia.
He then handed it over to Philippe Hanvier, a CNRS researcher. Notably, Bernard said, “It (the megalodon tooth) is perfectly preserved and is really new, not like a fossil. What is more surprising is that this tooth is embedded in a modern animal.” In 2014, a film about “Megalodon, the living monster” presented evidence (including fake evidence) to prove its existence.
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| A scale model of the megalodon's jaws, taken by Bashford Dean in 1909. |
Some surprising discoveries, such as the discovery of the coelacanth and the megamouth shark (with its giant mouth), have led many to believe that the megalodon may also be alive somewhere in the ocean. The coelacanth is an extremely ancient fish that was thought to have gone extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period about 65 million years ago. However, a specimen of this species was caught in 1938, another in 1952. Since then, several other specimens of the coelacanth have been discovered around the world. The megamouth shark, a plankton-eating species, was only discovered in 1976.
It is worth noting that coelacanths live very deep and spend most of their time in caves. Megamouth sharks, which can grow up to 4.5m in length, also live in very deep water. So it is not unusual for them to go undiscovered for a long time. This is completely different from the megalodon. Many scientists believe that a large predator like megalodon cannot avoid causing a big commotion.
Fossils found on beaches are considered the best evidence of the extinction of the megalodon. Scientists have proven that the megalodon preferred warm, shallow waters where there were more prey to match its enormous size. And if it still existed, a predator like the megalodon would certainly have left a mark. Because its impact on the food chain was extremely large. They would have eaten sharks and whales in all the oceans and people would have discovered bite marks and scars that exceeded the size of an attack by a normal shark. So, for scientists, it is certain that the megalodon is extinct and could not exist today.
