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How did the largest megalodons compare in length with Mosasaurus hoffmanni?

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Illustration of a female megalodon shark (Carcharocles megalodon) with a faint human scuba diver silhouette in the background for scale, highlighting the shark's massive size. Measurement bars at the bottom show 3 meters and 9 feet for reference. — megalodon Megalodon (*Carcharocles megalodon*) was a species of shark that lived during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (23.03 million to 2.58 million years ago).

The largest known specimens of the megalodon (Otodus megalodon) reached lengths of approximately 17.9 meters (58.7 feet). In comparison, the longest specimens of the marine reptile Mosasaurus hoffmanni are estimated to have reached about 17 meters (56 feet) in length.123

While M. hoffmanni is among the few species that approach the size of the largest megalodons, the megalodon is generally considered the larger of the two. It is important to note that because these animals are known primarily from the fossil record—and in the case of the megalodon, largely from teeth and vertebrae due to its cartilaginous skeleton—these length estimates are subject to scientific analysis and potential revision.243