Animal profile

Megalodon

Otodus megalodon

ChondrichthyesWarm coastal and shelf seas worldwideExtinct

Field profile

Megalodon was a giant shark known almost entirely from its teeth and a few vertebral columns, with length estimates generally in the range of fifteen to twenty metres. It fed on whales and other large marine mammals in warm shelf seas worldwide. It disappeared around 3.6 million years ago.

Published field notes

2024-04-20

Megalodon

Almost everything about megalodon comes from teeth

Shark skeletons are cartilage and rarely fossilise, so megalodon is reconstructed from teeth and a handful of vertebral columns. Its length, diet and even its family placement are inferences, and the popular figure of twenty-five metres exceeds what the evidence supports.

Read with evidence →