Megalodon
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Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes!!!!! But not really... it should though.. could swallow up sea world's research vessels in one bite 
Whale shark is up there in size.. lacks the predatory rage factor though.
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Whale shark is up there in size.. lacks the predatory rage factor though.
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dragon14
Aquarium Advice Addict
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
That's some odd deep water get up there.. here's a little something to compare.
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dragon14
Aquarium Advice Addict
Holy moly!
sinibotia
Aquarium Advice Addict
Direct information from my Biology of Sharks class:
We actually know quite a lot about Megalodon's life history from the fossil record. We know that it was a migratory shark which followed the migrations of the great whales of the time. Much like the modern day lemon shark, it traveled into shallow coastal waters around Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Carribean, etc. in order to give birth to its pups. Those pups stayed in the shallows and fed primarily on fish until they were around 7 meters long at which point they would travel out to sea and begin hunting whales.
One of the major hotspots for Megalodon was the area between North and South America- Megalodon was around before the two became connected by Panama. Whales would migrate through this fairly narrow area and the sharks would be waiting for them there.
Based on this information, I can confidently say that it is highly, highly unlikely that Megalodon still exists. Why? Well, a few reasons. First off, the whales that Megalodon hunted got bigger, and therefore much more difficult to hunt. A 60 foot shark is gonna have a hard time with an 80 foot whale. The isthmus of Panama also closed off, dramatically changing the migration routes of the whales. The sharks may not have been able to keep up with the new, changing migration routes of the whales after adapting for so long to the strategy of hunting around Panama. They may have begun to be outcompeted by smaller group hunting toothed whales. And finally, if Megalodon were still around, surely we would have seen one by now, as their migrations took them into shallow coastal seas to give birth so we'd be seeing both adult and juvenile megalodons regularly.
I hear many people suggest that Megalodon simply adapted to live in the deep sea, but there are some major problems with this "theory". Firstly, it would be a dramatic, drastic shift in behavior for the sharks; especially for a shark with presumably no deep-sea adaptations. Yes, coelocanths were thought extinct until discovered in deep water in the last century, but coelocanths have always lived in deep water habitats. Megalodons have always been coastal sharks and there is no evidence to suggest this fact changing. 2nd, the deep sea just would not support a shark of that size and nature. Sure, the deep sea supports some big animals, but megalodon was a lamnid shark who likely had an advanced thermoregulation mechanism (as many modern pelagic sharks do) as well as other advanced features that would require a caloric intake that would likely be too difficult to achieve as a deep sea predator. Just look at another massive deep sea shark, the greenland shark- it eats sleeping seals in the arctic but still doesn't have enough energy to go more than a few kilometers an hour- let alone achieve advanced thermoregulation.
Sorry guys, Megalodon is awesome, but I'm near-positive they're extinct.
We actually know quite a lot about Megalodon's life history from the fossil record. We know that it was a migratory shark which followed the migrations of the great whales of the time. Much like the modern day lemon shark, it traveled into shallow coastal waters around Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Carribean, etc. in order to give birth to its pups. Those pups stayed in the shallows and fed primarily on fish until they were around 7 meters long at which point they would travel out to sea and begin hunting whales.
One of the major hotspots for Megalodon was the area between North and South America- Megalodon was around before the two became connected by Panama. Whales would migrate through this fairly narrow area and the sharks would be waiting for them there.
Based on this information, I can confidently say that it is highly, highly unlikely that Megalodon still exists. Why? Well, a few reasons. First off, the whales that Megalodon hunted got bigger, and therefore much more difficult to hunt. A 60 foot shark is gonna have a hard time with an 80 foot whale. The isthmus of Panama also closed off, dramatically changing the migration routes of the whales. The sharks may not have been able to keep up with the new, changing migration routes of the whales after adapting for so long to the strategy of hunting around Panama. They may have begun to be outcompeted by smaller group hunting toothed whales. And finally, if Megalodon were still around, surely we would have seen one by now, as their migrations took them into shallow coastal seas to give birth so we'd be seeing both adult and juvenile megalodons regularly.
I hear many people suggest that Megalodon simply adapted to live in the deep sea, but there are some major problems with this "theory". Firstly, it would be a dramatic, drastic shift in behavior for the sharks; especially for a shark with presumably no deep-sea adaptations. Yes, coelocanths were thought extinct until discovered in deep water in the last century, but coelocanths have always lived in deep water habitats. Megalodons have always been coastal sharks and there is no evidence to suggest this fact changing. 2nd, the deep sea just would not support a shark of that size and nature. Sure, the deep sea supports some big animals, but megalodon was a lamnid shark who likely had an advanced thermoregulation mechanism (as many modern pelagic sharks do) as well as other advanced features that would require a caloric intake that would likely be too difficult to achieve as a deep sea predator. Just look at another massive deep sea shark, the greenland shark- it eats sleeping seals in the arctic but still doesn't have enough energy to go more than a few kilometers an hour- let alone achieve advanced thermoregulation.
Sorry guys, Megalodon is awesome, but I'm near-positive they're extinct.
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dragon14
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sinibotia,
Thank you for the history lesson!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it!!!
Thank you for the history lesson!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it!!!
OP
OP
Tbox
Aquarium Advice FINatic
http://io9.com/5877595/meet-the-20000-new-species-we-discovered-in-a-single-year
Yes I know they're extinct. Im just trying to entice some good crazy imaginations out there. Im not so certain a 60ft megalodon would have too hard of time with an 80ft solitary whale.
How long did it take to confirm the giant squid exists?
Also, the Bermuda Triangle could be Megalodon hold out.
Yes I know they're extinct. Im just trying to entice some good crazy imaginations out there. Im not so certain a 60ft megalodon would have too hard of time with an 80ft solitary whale.
How long did it take to confirm the giant squid exists?
Also, the Bermuda Triangle could be Megalodon hold out.
sinibotia
Aquarium Advice Addict
I think that an 80 foot whale would be difficult enough that a 60 foot shark would not always make it out alive... and that's a serious problem.
Giant squid is a deep sea animal and always has been. There is no evidence of Megalodon being a deep sea shark, in fact all evidence suggests it could often be found extremely close to shore, especially the juveniles. We would have confirmed a 60 foot shark's existence by now.
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
A little manatee told.me megladon and the lochness monster vacation in the keys together!
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sinibotia
Aquarium Advice Addict
Never trust a manatee, they're all pathological liars
This is scientific fact, really. I learned it in... uhh... biology of manatees, yeah, that's a real class
OP
OP
Tbox
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Haha fiery!
That would be the Keyless monster. Nessy wouldnt go there.
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That would be the Keyless monster. Nessy wouldnt go there.
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toddnbecka
Aquarium Advice Addict
There was a program on animal planet a few months ago about megalodons. Apparently a couple unfossilized teeth have turned up, and a diver got some pics of a young shark among a group of great whites that had the notched fins characteristic of megalodons. They wouldn't have to be 80' specimens to reproduce, so why couldn't there still be some out there?
fish wrangler
Aquarium Advice Addict
Need shark week to come back.
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Nils
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've also heard about stuff like this, there's probably a lot of evidence pointing towards the fact that it doesn't exist anymore, but it is possible. I watched a video where a deep sea collecting sub, not man controlled,was collecting samples and caught the fin of a huge animal on camera. Not sure how they calculated it, but it came out to a 60 foot shark. Here's the video:
It's pretty cool.
Nils
Nils
sinibotia
Aquarium Advice Addict
Unfortunately that's from a fake documentary...
keegster803
Aquarium Advice Addict
Most of the megaladon "documentaries" are actually mockumentaries
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Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
In all seriousness I don't think anyone can disprove the existence of anything in the ocean really. It's so vast, so much yet to be discovered.
Megladon for president 2015!!!
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Megladon for president 2015!!!
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sinibotia
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well technically you can't "disprove" anything. There could be an invisible sasquatch living under my bed.
But I'm so confident that there are no megalodon left that If one is found I will eat one of my own fish!
OP
OP
Tbox
Aquarium Advice FINatic
We both know invisible sasquatch require alot more territory to roam about than under your bed.
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