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A new study by scientists in the UK has shown how big megalodon actually was, and the great white shark should be worried.
A study recently published by scientists from the University of Bristol and Swansea University in the UK has determined the size of the most famous villain of the seas — the megalodon.
Meaning “big tooth”, megalodon, or “Meg” for short, lived between 3.6 million and 23 million years ago in the warm shallow seas that covered much of Earth. Meg is both the largest shark and the largest fish that ever lived.
The study determined that the megalodon was 59 feet (18 meters) in length, and weighed 48 tons (43.5 tonnes). By comparison, great white sharks measure 20 feet (6.1 m) in length and weigh around 4,200 – 5,000 lbs. (1,905 – 2,268 kg).
Meg’s head would have been 15 feet (4.65 m) long, its dorsal fin was 5.3 feet (1.62 m) tall, and its tail was 12.6 (3.85 m) long. The scientists determined that Meg would have had a bite force of over 10 tons (9 tonnes), while the great white shark’s bite force is only a “puny” two tons (1.8 tonnes).