The Megalodon has been extinct for awhile but a giant nursery for these huge predators has been found. These 49 feet plus sharks from the prehistoric neogene period are undeniably the biggest predator this planet has seen. Sharks so big that they fed on whales would have offspring the size of a great white. These offspring nursed together in two known areas South Carolina and more recently discovered Panama.
Scattered teeth have been found on the shores of the Caribbean Sea in Panama. These teeth are the size of our modern day Great White sharks; yet these shark teeth are not fully grown they are merely adolescent Megalodon teeth. In the neogene period these fully grown massive predators would have 6 inch long teeth! 6 inches long! May I now direct your attention to the terrifyingly amazing picture which would be a surfers fate.
This find was led by Catalina Pimiento of the University of Florida in Gainesville. From reading this article it seems as if Pimiento was trying to make a claim that his find is the first of its kind. The nursery found in South Carolina contained adolescent and fully grown Megadolons along with whale skulls. While the nursery he found contained only adolescent teeth. In this article Pimiento was referenced to saying that he thinks it is unlikely that adolescent Megadolons would feed on whales since most adolescents do not require much food. Was the nursery Pimiento found the first of its kind? Was the South Carolina nursery not really a nursery? In my opinion Pimiento has a legitimate claim if he can back it up with more solid facts than that!
In any case, I for one am happy these magnificent monstrous beasts are no longer alive to prey. Let us stick to our more moderate set of jaws, the Great White. Plus, I like surfing!
Original Article found at http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/09/29/megalodon-nursery.html.
Posted by “Alexandre Bourdois” (1)
This is quite amazing. I read an article not too long ago that they'd found another large, prehistoric-like shark off the coast of China. However, the shark they found died as a result of rising too fast in the water. Apparently it couldn't handle pressure change and needed to be deep in the ocean.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any idea how the megalodon communicated when they were alive? I know modern sharks have lateral line systems that help them sense the environment around them - perhaps the meglodon had a similar system?
Posted by Bethany Rappleyea
This is great. I half-wished the nursery found was some untouched, live shark nursery at which the megalodons fed on prey near to them, never leaving their (relatively) immediate area and only being found just recently. As far as shark feeding on whales, is there any research or idea as to how that happens? I've only known sharks to feed on smaller prey like seals- if the prey is bigger, do they just bite them and eat them alive? I think I remember that either certain species of dolphins or Orca whales (or both) use a battering-ram method for killing larger prey. Sharks doing the same thing: frightening.
ReplyDeleteDo you know any theories as to why the Megalodon has gone extinct? Do you think it was anything to do with a lack of communication in the species that could have led to issues mating/ offspring survival/ or finding food that may have led to their extinction? I am also interested in what their food source was. You said that the adolescent Megalodon doesn't require that much food? I find that odd because the animal is so large and grow so rapidly. Was the Megalodon fossils found in any other places besides Panama? This species is very interesting and especially scary due to their large size (and teeth!).
ReplyDeletePosted by Tiffany Mallet
This is really impressive. I never knew that these triangle teeth were six inches long. That's half the length of a newborn. I was wondering if these sharks get together to eat the whale, or just capture them and are able to consume it themselves?
ReplyDeleteIts sad to say that these animals are now extinct, but at the same time I feel like if they were still alive there might not be any life in the ocean for other animals living there.
I would hate to be this guy surfing in front of the shark.
Posted by Vanessa Raphaël
I will second you on being happy that they are extinct! Great post, this is really interesting. Why did they go extinct if they were so powerful? Do you know of any ways they may or may not have communicated? Are they trying to find that out? I think I might do some reading on these monsters, they seem pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteNice post!
Posted by Alyson Paige
no way
ReplyDeleteit is dead
right
ReplyDelete