Megalodon Shark Sightings
Reported Megalodon shark sightings have some people wondering if the most formidable predator the ocean has ever seen might still be alive today, even though science and common sense tell us it’s impossible.
At maximum lengths of up to 60 feet, Megalodon was the largest shark that ever lived and the apex predator of its day. This terrifying monster lived at a time when the ocean was a very different place, and it went extinct long ago.
Why, then, are there reports of massive sharks thirty feet long or more from around the world? Is it possible mainstream science has it wrong, and the Megalodon shark is still out there somewhere?
In this article we’ll take a look at some compelling evidence and stories that suggest Megalodon is still with us. In the end, it’s up to you to decide: Is the Megalodon Shark still alive?
Megalodon Facts
Just looking for some quick facts and information on the Megalodon shark? Here’s a summary of what we know about the monster:
Megalodon Facts and Frequently asked Questions
Could Megalodon Still Live?
There are some truly huge sharks in the world today, but the idea of a living Megalodon is something else entirely. It’s a chilling thought, and fun to ponder, but is it really possible? When you consider that some researchers claim we know more about the surface of the moon that we do of the deep ocean, perhaps it’s not such a strange idea after all. The deep ocean has proven especially difficult to study, and almost anything could lurk in the depths.
This concept has spawned some interesting movies and novels, not to mention caught the attention shark enthusiasts both amateur and professional. Even the Discovery Channel featured a special on the Megalodon for Shark Week 2012, complete with a massive recreation of the monster. They went on to offer an even more artificial rendition of the creature for Shark Week 2013 fiasco.
Prehistoric Sea Creatures and Living Fossils
We know the real Megalodon shark only from the fossil record and preserved teeth. Because shark skeletons consist mostly of cartilage, these are the only parts that fossilize. No living or dead specimen has ever been recovered in modern times, and there are no “offical” Megalodon sightings on record. So what makes us think it could still be around? More importantly, has anything like this every happened before?
In fact, there is precedence for bizarre marine creatures turning up when the odds are stacked against them. Some of them, like the Megalodon shark, were once thought extinct, or be believed to only be myths.
The Giant Squid
The Giant Squid is a huge creature reaching up to 30 feet in length which dwells in the deepest part of the ocean. Though science eventually knew of its existence from bodies washed ashore and scars left on the bodies of whales, no live adult specimen was ever caught on film until 2004. Now we know much more about these creatures, and that there is an even larger monster squid out there.
The Colossal Squid is an enormous real-life sea monster, with the largest specimens weighing over half a ton. Yet even though it was discovered in 1925 we still know little about this beast.
Colossal and Giant squid sightings by ancient sailors are probably what led to legends of the Kraken sea monster.
The Megamouth Shark
The incredible Megamouth Shark is another huge sea creature that can grow up to nearly 20 feet in length, but it was not discovered until 1976. This beast eluded researchers for so long because it lives in deep water, and comes closer to the surface only at night. This, some researchers speculate, could be the same behavior that makes Megalodon so tough to spot in modern times.
The Coelacanth
The Coelacanth is an even stranger case. This bizarre fish was thought to have gone extinct 65 million years ago, until they were discovered in 1938, live and well, off the coast of South Africa. The Coelacanth is a prehistoric fish, referred to as the Living Fossil. While not giants like Megalodon, the Megamouth or the Giant Squid, they do reach over six feet in length.
The Lazarus Taxon
The discovery of the Coelacanth is the best-known example of something called the Lazarus Taxon. This is when a species appears to have gone extinct, but then is found alive again. Usually, as in the case with the Coelacanth, there is a small remnant population somewhere that had gone unnoticed, at least by modern science. Often, locals know about the animals, but because a biologist hasn’t confirmed it the species remains officially extinct. As we’ll see, there are plenty of accounts of Megalodon sightings.
If such an ancient and strange species like the Coelacanth could endure without detection for so long, why can’t Megalodon be alive out there somewhere after all these years?
Historic Megalodon Sightings and Evidence
There are a handful of well-documented pieces of evidence and testimony that suggest Megalodon is still alive. Here are a few of the more well-known stories:
Megalodon Teeth Found by HMS Challenger
In 1875 two Megalodon teeth dredged up during a deep-sea expedition by HMS Challenger dated only 10,000 – 15,000 years old. If the methods used were accurate, this would mean Megalodon went extinct much more recently than previously believed, and make it a contemporary of modern humans. Ten thousand years is only a blink of an eye in the world of paleontology. It does not take great imagination to think the Megalodon shark may have survived the past 10,000 years undetected in the depths of the oceans. This also means our ancestors, at least the ones who lived near the ocean, would have been well acquainted with the Megalodon shark.
Fishermen Terrified by Giant Shark
In 1918, Australian naturalist David Stead recorded events when local fisherman refused to go back out to sea after an unbelievably massive shark had demolished their gear and taken their catch. These were experienced men of the sea, familiar with whales and large sharks, but whatever they had seen had frightened them so much that they refused to work. According to Stead, they described it as between 35 and 90 meters long and pure white in color. These proportions seem unbelievable. Could a shark really grow to that size? Were these men exaggerating? Or, were they just confused? Or, was this a Megalodon sighting? If it wasn’t a Megalodon shark that had frightened them, what else could it have been?
Massive Shark Threatens 55-Foot Fishing Boat
In the 1960 ’s the captain of a 55-foot fishing ship reported that a white shark at least as long as the boat passed by while they sat at anchor. The crew refused to officially discuss the sighting, but the Captain gave his account. An experienced sailor, the Captain would have been able to recognize a whale if that is what it had been, but he claimed it was indeed a giant shark.
Are these stories real Megalodon sightings, or just products of the imaginations of sailors who have been at sea too long? Here’s an interesting read with more information on some of these historical Megalodon encounters along with a few others, including some bizarre stories evidently originating with novelist Zane Grey:
An Evaluation of the Supposed Contemporary Existance of Carcharodon Megalodon
Recent Megalodon Sightings
Unfortunately, when it comes to more recent Megalodon sightings there isn ’t a whole lot to hang our hats on. Megalodon has firmly planted itself in the realm of cryptozoology, and few marine biologists and shark researchers take the creature seriously in the modern day. Occasionally a stray report will wash up of a larger-than-normal shark spotted somewhere, but given that Great Whites can theoretically grow in excess of 20 feet it ’s certainly possible that these are misidentified animals. Most marine biologists would be thrilled enough to discover a 20-foot Great White!
But there are at least a few interesting tidbits for consideration.
The Megalodon Monsterquest Episode
Back in 2009 the History Channel show Monsterquest visited the Sea of Cortez where massive sharks have been reported for years. These beasts are allegedly three times larger than the biggest great white sharks in the area, and know for decimating the local marine mammal populations. The Monsterquest team failed to find Megalodon, but many still believe, if this giant shark is still around, this is a prime location for finding it.
The Monster of Bird Island
In 2012, on an episode of the show Shark Wranglers called Monster of Bird Island, shark researchers interviewed a group of South African fisherman who claimed there was a huge shark in the area as big as their boat. The boat appeared to be thirty or forty feet long. Was this a Megalodon shark these fisherman had witnessed? Later in the episode one of the researchers told a tale of a 30-foot shark he had seen when he was younger. Here’s more on this tale:
Shark Wrangler Recalls Possible Megalodon Encounter
What was Megalodon Really Like?
Though we think of the Megalodon as a giant Great White Shark, many researchers believe it may not have resembled one at all. Indeed, some say they were not even closely related. Did it act like a Great White? Most researchers say it was probably similar, but of course there is no way to be sure. So when someone spots a giant Great White Shark, what are the odds it could really be a relic Megalodon? Viewed from this perspective, there could be countless undocumented Megalodon sightings throughout history.
So what was Megalodon shark really like? Could the dramatization in the video below be accurate?
Megalodon Teeth
Like the Great White, Megalodon had serrated teeth. While we think of modern sharks as formidable predators we surely woundn’t want to cross, Megalodon would have been in a whole other class of terror. Even after countless centuries, some fossilized Megalodon teeth are still sharp to the touch. We can only imagine what they were capable doing to a large prey item like a whale, let alone a human.
The largest Megalodon teeth can be seven inches long, the size of a grown-man’s hand. Megalodon was the largest and most highly evolved in a lineage of megatoothed sharks.
Though they look like larger versions of Great White Shark teeth, paleontologists point to slight differences in the teeth of Megalodon and its ancestors as proof that the Megalodon shark is not closely related to the Great White. This would put it in the genus Carcharocles rather than the Great White’s Carcharodon. This is a matter still up for debate.
Megalodon Bite Force
Regardless of its heritage, this shark had a set of chompers never seen in the animal kingdom before or since. Researchers have calculated that this massive shark may have had a bite force of 18 tons! A T-Rex had a bite force of only one-third that. The strongest biter in our world today is the saltwater crocodile, and they only come in around 3700 pounds.
It’s clear the teeth and jaws of Megalodon were made for destruction. Interestingly, some researchers say it may have bitten off the fins of its prey before finishing it off. That makes the Megalodon tooth arsenal not only powerful, but capable of a certain amount of precision as well.
Behavior and Hunting Technique
Much like the modern Great White, Megalodon was probably an ambush predator that took its prey by surprise, either from below or by approaching at great speeds. This would have meant it was a very active shark, not some lumbering giant like the Whale Shark. It was a coastal shark, hunting offshore, again like our modern Great White. It would have been found in just about every ocean of the world, preying on whales, dolphins and other marine mammals, and even giant sea turtles. In short, it would have eaten just about anything it wanted, and if it were really around it would not be hard to spot.
If Megalodon is still alive today it ’s easy to see that all of the above can no longer be true. A massive, 60-foot shark hunting whales close to shore would surely be well-known, not to mention widely feared. So if Meg is still around it must have changed its behaviors drastically.
Megalodon Shark Nurseries
Scientists think Megalodon young lived in shark nurseries like Great Whites. These are areas, usually close to shore, where young sharks can grow and feed in relative safety. Megalodon young may have started out eating fish or other small prey items, and then moved on to larger prey as they got bigger.
So where are the baby Megalodon sharks? They may be living at great depths like their parents, or it could be possible that they they are so rare and so similar to the Great White that when they are spotted they are simply assumed to be adult Great White Sharks.
The Livyatan Whale: A Formidable Rival?
So its pretty clear the Megalodon Shark was the most powerful beast in the ancient Miocene ocean, but could there have been another creature just as fearsome that gave Meg a run for its money?
The recently discovered Livyatan whale was as big as Megalodon, with teeth over a foot long. It competed with Megalodon for food, but what happened when these two prehistoric heavyweights met face to face? Check out:
Livyatan vs Megalodon: Battle of Prehistoric Sea Monsters
What Happened to Megalodon?
If this shark was such a ferocious predator, why did it die out? Unfortunately, even the strongest creatures are no match for Mother Nature. While Meg inhabited every ocean of the world, the planet was a much warmer place back then.
As the environment entered a cooling period, sea levels began to fall and currents shifted, causing not only a cooling of the ocean itself but also a shift in the food supply. Theoretically, the Megalodon shark either couldn ’t adapt to the colder climate, the food issues, or both. There is also evidence that the situation may have been complicated by the evolution of other large, predatory marine creatures which may have infringed on Megalodon ’s niche.
Does Megalodon Live in the Mariana Trench?
For Meg to still be still alive would have had to adapt to colder temperatures, a different breeding pattern, and greatly different food sources. Some speculate the deepest parts of the ocean, such as the Mariana Trench, may be a place where Meg has survived.
Certainly we know whales and giant squid venture very deep, so it is conceivable that Megalodon would have the food it requires. In fact, recent research on Great White Sharks shows they may dive fairly deep in search of food. If Meg followed similar habits, perhaps it could have made the adaptations to deep-ocean life much easier than some experts suggest.
Unfortunately, the larger an animal is, and the more specific it’s niche in the environment, the harder time it has adapting to environmental changes. It’s unlikely that the vast majority of these sharks would have been able to adapt to a major shortage in their food supply. An animal that evolved to feed on large marine mammals will have a tough time switching to oceanic fish, for example.
However, what is conceivable is that a small population which had already made some adaptations to a different food sources and lifestyle (such as diving to great depths and feeding on squid) could have survived the die off and maintained a small, remnant population of Megalodon over the centuries.
The Verdict on Megalodon
All of these Megalodon sightings and stories are compelling, but are they really enough to suggest this massive shark is still alive? Is Megalodon still out there somewhere, stalking the oceans of the world? Is there any reason to worry about going in the water at the beach?
If it makes you feel any better, mainstream science is unmoved by the evidence supporting the possibility of Megalodon ’s existence today. Still, the idea of this monster shark out there patrolling the ocean deep is fascinating to imagine. There is still so much of the ocean left unexplored, the possibilities are almost endless.
More Terrors Beneath the Waves:
Are Mermaids Real? Aquatic Ape Theory Explains Real-life Mermaids
Lake Monsters in the US and Canada
Loch Ness Monster Sightings: Is there a Living Plesiosaur in Loch Ness?
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