Palaeontology

July 3, 2026

Image: AI-generated (Bing AI / Dall-E 3)

Megalodon was so large that it makes the oversized sharks from the 'Jaws' movies look like minnows.

Sporting several rows of deadly serrated teeth up to 5 inches long, this prehistoric behemoth, which lived up until around 2.6 million years ago, made the great white shark - which is less than a third of its size - look positively tiny.

The absolute maximum size Megalodon could reach has long remained a topic of debate among scientists, with estimates increasing over the years based on new fossil discoveries and improvements in analytical techniques.

The latest estimate comes courtesy of a fossil from Denmark that was originally unearthed in the 1970s, lost for decades and then rediscovered.

According to the new findings, this individual shark was around 64 years old.

Most interesting of all, however, was the determination from the fossil that Megalodon may have been capable of reaching as much as 24.3 meters (or 79 feet) in length.

That would make it - by quite a margin - the largest fish vertebrate that ever lived.

So the next time you watch Jaws - just keep in mind what the story might have been like if the shark had been almost three times larger...

Source: The Conversation

Tags: Shark, Megalodon