Megalodon shark, an oceanic monster explained briefly:

Introduction

This paper explores megalodon sharks, which are found in oceans all over the world. The megalodon shark was one of the earliest predators to be recorded in history. This species was discovered by paleoanthropologist Donald Oates. It is thought that these sharks were about 8–10 feet long with a jaw length of up to 12 feet (McEwan & Scott, 2008). This paper will discuss what they are and how their size compares to other sharks in the sea. It will also provide an evolutionary background into this particular shark. Lastly, it has discussed why these sharks vanished.

Megalodon shark :

The megalodon shark came into existence after the collapse of dinosaurs and the extinction of most of the marine life in certain seas. They went extinct about 10,000 years ago. These sharks used to eat prey like small bony fishes among many others. Megalodon sharks are characterized by having white fins on top of black bottoms (McEwan & Scott, 2008). Unlike modern sharks, which include both black and white fins. These sharks lived in ocean waters and marine life before going extinct. There are now only two surviving types of this type of shark viz. Megalodon spleocephalus and Spleosomites crayon. Another type of them, a subspecies of Spleosomites crayon which has different colors in its fins, is still alive and being studied by scientists to understand its anatomy.


Megalodon sharks had various forms of prey and for this reason, a majority of them ate crustaceans and other creatures. According to scientific studies, these sharks had a diet consisting mainly of squid, octopus, and shrimp. Some of the species the monster shark eats are Pacific cod fish, Pterois, and tuna. When studying this particular shark, archeologists discovered that animals in the genus Threskioptera also depended heavily on him, mainly because he was a predator and a huge player of different body parts. He was able to consume around 30 percent of his prey daily (McEwan & Scott, 2008). With the absence of predators, this kind of habitat disappeared due to human activity, and natural factors took the place of his prey. The disappearance of this creature was confirmed with the discovery of fossils of the old ones that were found during excavation, which showed that he existed a few thousand years ago. More recently there were no other fossils as well as evidence that suggests this beast existed a lot earlier.

Megalodon spleocephalus is now classified as an extinct species, however, it is not clear whether it is extinct or otherwise. Studies are ongoing to find the last specimens of this species and get information regarding its evolution. As it stands, the name of this animal is M. spleocephalus and it belongs to the genus Neognathus. A handful of people have been known to research the creature and confirm its existence. They have tried to locate individuals that might be living today.

Evolutionarily, it is one of the earliest shark species. However, it goes back to the Jurassic period, with some minor variations, but it still does not belong to any superorganism. Although they are believed to have evolved before the mass extinction, they are still found in deep sea waters. The last specimen of the Miocene age that was collected by Professor Mark Higgs in 1985 found its teeth in sedimentary rock formations off California Coastline. Scientists believe that the species has been evolving slowly over time (McEwan & Scott, 2008).

The main fossil finds associated with the Megalodon shark include skulls from the same bones and tusk that belonged to another whale, Archaeoceratops, a giant ground snake. Other skeletons were found on the California Coastline where the original owners of the remains died. Fossilized teeth were found in California beach sandstone and rocks (McEwan & Scott, 2008). These artifacts show that they ate mammals, therefore they must have stayed in touch with life. There are even reports that suggest that scientists have found some fragments of legs belonging to these sharks among many other things (McEwan & Scott, 2008). Therefore, I think Megalodon spleocephalus has gone extinct, but there is nothing else that gives an idea that there could be a newer population of this type of creature.

Conclusion

The findings described above clearly show that the last specimen of Megalodon spleocephalus was found close to 20 000 years ago. To conclude, this means that we can assume that there might be more species of the Megalodon spleocephalus alive today and they probably eat the same kinds of aquatic prey. Also, it can only be assumed that the Megalodon shark has evolved significantly, and it likely became the oldest shark to ever thrive in shallow waters. Even though they went extinct due to natural factors and human actions, if we take a closer look at their anatomical features, we can see that they are quite similar to ancient shark species. Hence, I feel that the possibility exists that they may just be the ancestors of the present day

sharks.