Researchers reveal new details Prehistoric shark megalodon was probably smaller than thought
It's not good news for directors of scary shark films: the extinct megalodon mega shark may not have been an enlarged version of the bulky great white shark, but a much slimmer creature. This is confirmed by another study.
10.03.2025, 23:07
10.03.2025, 23:08
SDA
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- Researchers recently discovered that the prehistoric basking shark looked more like a giant lemon shark than a great white shark.
- At up to 24 meters long and weighing 94 tons, it was an extremely energy-efficient swimmer.
- Researchers reconstructed the proportions of the megalodon using an eleven-metre-long fossil spine.
- As no complete skeleton has yet been found, the findings are hypothetical - only a new discovery could provide definitive clarity.
In terms of shape, it looked more like a lemon shark, the research team assumes in the journal "Palaeontologia Electronica". However, at a good 24 meters long, it was probably huge.
This would have made the megalodon - technical name: Otodus megalodon - around six times as long as a great white shark. Its size would have been closer to that of a blue whale, and with an estimated weight of around 94 tons, it would have been almost as heavy. According to the researchers, the megalodon's cylindrical body was probably designed for energy-efficient travel rather than high-speed hunting.
Megalodon as an extreme of gigantism
It probably had little in common with the massive predator seen in lurid films. "Gigantism is not just about getting bigger, but also about developing the right body to survive at that size," explained co-author Phillip Sternes. "And the megalodon was perhaps one of the most extreme examples of this."
The prehistoric shark became famous through the science fiction films "Meg" and "Meg 2: The Deep", among others, in which such giants emerge from the depths. No complete skeletons have yet been found of the species, which lived around 15 to 3.6 million years ago and was widespread in the oceans almost worldwide, but mainly individual giant teeth and vertebrae. Researchers therefore have to rely on estimates to determine their size and shape.
Comparison of vertebrae provides new conclusions
Due to their similar serrated teeth, it was long assumed that megalodons and great white sharks were very similar. A research team led by Kenshu Shimada from DePaul University in Chicago analyzed the fossilized, eleven-metre-long spine of a megalodon. Instead of relying on tooth analysis, the scientists compared the spine with 165 living and extinct shark species in order to reconstruct the proportions of the head, body and tail of the prehistoric basking shark.
For this specimen, the research team estimated a total length of over 16 meters and a weight of around 30 tons. Based on other, much larger vertebrae found, they also assume that megalodons several decades old could have been more than 24 meters long.
The team also looked at the proportions. White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) have a stocky build that is favorable for fast movements, with a broad midsection that tapers sharply towards the tail. The megalodon, on the other hand, was probably something between a lightning-fast predator and a leisurely gliding traveler.
Rather a kind of oversized lemon shark
"It did not resemble an oversized white shark, but rather a huge lemon shark with a slender, elongated body," explained Sternes. This shape makes much more physical sense for such a large animal to be able to move efficiently through the water. Modern basking sharks such as the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) and the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) as well as other giant aquatic vertebrates such as whales also have slender bodies.
As a newborn, a megalodon may already have been three and a half to four meters long and thus as large as many adult sharks of today's species. "It is quite possible that megalodon young were already killing marine mammals shortly after birth," says Sternes.
Only a new find will bring clarity
All of their interpretations are working hypotheses and still preliminary, the researchers also emphasize - ultimately, only the discovery of a complete skeleton will bring certainty. The results support an earlier analysis by the team with Phillip Sternes as first author. Computer tomography scans of the vertebrae of a white shark and data on the megalodon from earlier studies were used. These results alone suggested that the megalodon was not simply a giant version of the modern white shark.
Timo Moritz from the German Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund, who was not involved in the study, explained that the conclusion that it was probably slimmer than long assumed was understandable.
