The Megalodon Essay, Research Paper
The Megalodon
Kingdom-animalia
Phylum-chordata
Subphylum-vertebrata
Class-Chondrichthyes
Subclass-Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays)
Order-Lamniformes
Family-Lamnidae
Genus-Carcharodon
Species-megalodon
Intro.
I was in front of the TV watching shark week on the discovery channel
when they started to talk about this shark that was three times bigger then a great
white shark and ate whales for food. I sat there for an hour intrigued by the
thought of one of those living today. So when you gave out the reports I knew
right away what I wanted to do it on the Megalodon.
Megalodon
Sharks have been around for along time. They were here before the
dinosaurs 350 million years ago. About 5 million years ago the ocean was ruled by
a shark speculated to be the size of a bus. Its not known how big it was or what it
looked like because sharks bones are made of cartilage and the only things that
remain are their huge teeth. These teeth are as big as six inches long and
weight up to twelve ounces. The teeth look like a great whites but four times
bigger. Scientist once believed that they were 120ft in length because of the size
of their teeth. Recently, it has been shrunk to 50 to 60 feet. There is a lot of these
teeth which Probably means they had rows of teeth like the great whites five rows
of them. Because there is so few fossils there is still a lot of mystery to the
megaladon.
The Megladon shark was first discovered by a French paleontologist Louis
Agassiz in 1835. It is not known where the tooth was found. Now days most of
the megalodon teeth are found on the East Coast in Maryland and North and South
Carolina and in Florida. Lots of people also collect their teeth and sell
them. A 5-inch tooth in good condition goes for about $250.
There are many speculations about the megalodon shark what they
looked like and what they ate. It will never be known for sure but many experts
think that they had a lot in common with the great white because their teeth are
so similar. Experts think that the megalodon was also a killer like the great
white but ate not just seals, but also ate whales. Sharks need to eat two
percent of their body weight a day, so they didn t have to eat huge amounts of
food. There has been evidence in the bones of whales showing teeth marks shaped
like megalodon s tooth. Also many paleontologist argue over many of these
speculations. Each one has a different theory how they lived.
At the Smithsonian museum is the biggest reconstructed megalodon jaw
in the world. The jaw is seven feet tall and four feet wide. It isn t know for sure if
the jaw looked like this for sure but it the best they can guess.
How They Died
It is not certain how all of the megalodon s died but there is a couple
theories . One is that the food supply ran out. The most repeated theory is that
the megalodon s food was very scarce and that there were so few of them because
they were on top of the food chain and died off. The great whites survived during
the extinction of the megalodon, and they lived in the same area as megalodons.
They think the smaller size of the great white made it easier for them to
Survive, having to eat less. Another theory is that the temperature of the water
changed and the whales migrated away leaving megalodons without there main
food supply. Some scientist think that the megalodon changed into the the great
whites of today. But recently there has been findings disagreeing with these
scientist
The Fear
With the movie Jaws and all the talk about shark attacks sharks have gotten
a bad wrap. The thought of a megalodon in the water would sure keep me out of
the ocean. The thought of being eaten in one gulp is scary. Also you would have
to have a pretty big boat to feel safe in the water. If a megalodon can eat a whale
it wouldn t be to hard for it to capsize a 30ft boat. So I m quite glad that the
megalodon shark isn t around any more because the ocean wouldn t be as fun as it
is now.