Understanding Megalodon

Question: The word megalodon, a compound of Greek root words, means what?

Answer: The word megalodon, which is a compound of Greek root words, means “giant tooth.”

Question: What was megalodon’s habitat?

Answer: Megalodon’s habitat is best characterized as tropical and temperate seas.

Question: Was megalodon warm-blooded?

Answer: According to paleontologists, megalodon was partly warm-blooded in that it generated heat through muscle contractions that then raised the temperature of parts of the shark’s body above that of the water around it.

Question: Megalodon was first described in 1835 by which scientist?

Answer: Swiss-born American naturalist Louis Agassiz, who produced landmark work on glacier activity as well as on extinct fishes, first described megalodon in 1835.

Question: Megalodon’s bite diameter was ____.

Answer: Megalodon’s bite diameter was 3 metres (about 9.8 feet).

Question: Some scientists argue that the largest megalodons may have measured up to what length?

Answer: According to some scientists, the largest megalodons may have measured up to 25 metres (82 feet) long—much, much bigger than any modern great white shark.

Question: The scientific name of the species of the modern great white shark, which may be a close relative to megalodon, is what?

Answer: Modern great white sharks have the scientific name Carcharodon carcharias. Similarities between the teeth of the great white shark and megalodon suggest that these two sharks are close relatives.

Question: What’s the best description of a megalodon’s teeth?

Answer: Megalodon’s teeth are best described as triangular and serrated.

Question: What was the most likely cause of megalodon’s extinction?

Answer: Shifting food-chain dynamics were the most likely cause of megalodon’s extinction. Scientific studies indicate a decline in the population of baleen whales—megalodon’s primary food source—and an increase in the number of competitors about the time that megalodon went extinct.

Question: In which interval of geologic time did megalodon live?

Answer: Megalodon lived during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs.