One of the most recently evolved families is the hammerhead shark (family Sphyrnidae), which emerged in the Eocene. It was during this time that Otodus obliquus, the ancestor to megalodon (Otodus megalodon), appeared. The Megalodon was not the only giant shark found in the oceans during the cenozoic era, another shark the Otodus grew to a staggering 39 feet in length, twice the length of the biggest … Great white shark evolution. Unfortunately, due to Oceanic cooling and sea level drops, along with a Shark scales have a characteristic tooth-like structure, so we can be reasonably confident that such scales did, in fact, come from some kind of shark.
Megalodon really did exist.
If ever there were a creature that sparks our primal fear of what resides in the deep, it’s the megatooth shark. Modern sharks began to appear about 100 million years ago. [15] The oldest white shark teeth date from 60 to 66 million years ago, around the time of the extinction of the dinosaurs. A Megalodon, scientific name Otodus(carcharocles) megalodon, is a massive prehistoric shark that dominated the oceans as the apex predator from the Miocene until the Pliocene. This terrifying predator, with 7 inch long teeth, used to eat whales. But the evolutionary history of this shark is thought to stretch back to Cretalamna appendiculata, dating to 105 million years old - making the lineage of megalodon over 100 million years old. Megalodon is a massive species of shark that lived about 15.9 to 2.6 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era (middle Miocene to end Pliocene).
These teeth are much larger than those of any living shark, including the great white, and from them researchers have been able to determine the size, weight and even some of the habits of the real Megalodon shark. One reason we know this is because of an abundant supply of fossil teeth it left behind.
This phenomenon is not anecdotal. Fossil teeth of the awesome predator are highly prized by collectors especially when large and in excellent condition.
It was the largest predatory shark ever, even more powerful than the largest dinosaurs. [11] Fossil mackerel shark teeth date to the Early Cretaceous.
Sharks soon began to increase in size once again, and continued to evolve larger forms throughout the Palaeogene (66 to 23 million years ago). It’s a puzzle piece that has eluded shark scientists for years: just why exactly did the ancient Otodus megalodon, the largest shark to ever swim in our planet’s oceans, disappear?While recent movies and mockumentaries have toyed with the idea that “the Meg” is still alive, it is unquestionably extinct according to marine biologists. Yes! It may sound like a monster from a horror movie, but Megalodon was a real shark, and it really did exist in our world's oceans at one time. Thanks to urban legends, and the popularity of movies like The Meg , Megalodon is once again in the public eye. It grew to the size of tractor-trailer semi-truck, and it ate whales for breakfast. The oldest definitive ancestor of megalodon is a 55-million-year-old shark known as Otodus obliquus, which grew to around 10 metres in length. Megalodon: The real facts about the largest shark that ever lived "Megalodon" is the common name for Carcharocles megalodon* , a truly gigantic predatory shark that went extinct long ago. Megalodon, member of an extinct species of megatooth shark (Otodontidae) considered to be the largest shark, and the largest fish, that ever lived. The Lemon sharks pectorals are a little big he should give some to the hammerhead. The oldest shark-like scales date back to the late Ordovician Period, about 455 million years ago, from what is now Colorado. It is one of the largest known marine predators to ever swim our oceans. Fossils attributed to megalodon dating from the early Miocene to the end of the Pliocene have been found in tropical and temperate marine environments worldwide.