We’re gonna need a bigger shark size estimate. Researchers had based some informed guesses about just how massive the megalodon — a prehistoric giant fish that hunted the oceans 13 million years to 15 million years ago — was by comparing existing fossils of the extinct species to bones of the present-day great white shark.
Formally called Otodus megalodon, the prehistoric predator is known not just for its size but for its distinctive serrated teeth. Because the much smaller modern-day great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) has similar chompers, Megalodon has often been considered its supersize precursor.
However, measuring a creature that inspired “The Meg” against one that gave creative birth to “Jaws” may not be apt. If not an apples-to-oranges scenario, it may well be a “lemon shark to great white” one, according to a paper in Palaeontologia Electronica.
“Our new study has solidified the idea that O. megalodon was ...
