The monstrous shark from the American film really existed

The movie “Megatubarão 2” has the megalodon as the central character. Just like in the original saga, Jonas Taylor (played by Jason Statham) fights the prehistoric shark in the most thrilling way possible.

The film, as often happens in cinematic fiction, has exaggerated adventure scenes. Like this one, in which the protagonist fights by pushing the animal’s gigantic jaw with his paws.

At another moment, Jonas Taylor jumps onto a jet ski in front of the colossal creature.

Fiction aside, the megalodon was a terrifying marine species that actually existed.

It was a prehistoric shark that inhabited and terrorized the seas about 20 million years ago.

The extinction of the megalodon occurred when humanity did not yet exist, approximately 3.5 million years ago.

In recent decades, researchers have delved into studies to evaluate the unprecedented size of these sharks and their habits.

Since the first half of the 19th century, science has known that the monumental creature existed thanks to the discovery of fossilized triangular teeth.

In ancient Greek megalodon means “large tooth”.

The prehistoric shark’s teeth were up to 6.5 inches long, more than double what a great white shark can reach.

Although they have enough evidence to conclude that the megalodon was enormous, scientists are unable to determine its size or have a good idea of ​​its shape.

Shark skeletons are made up of soft cartilage, a material that does not fossilize properly. In other words, it is not possible to obtain the complete skeleton of the animal.

The study groups have very different size estimates, depending on the parameter adopted. However, many point to animals measuring as much as 18-20 meters in length.

If these measurements were real, megalodons would be up to four times larger than the great white shark, the largest predator among sharks.

Even regarding the eating habits of the megalodon, studies differ. They are made by chemical analysis of fossilized teeth.

Some studies indicate that they were predators that fed on larger beings, as is the case with the killer whales that exist today. In this case they would be classified as “hyperpredators”.

Others point out that they were predators with a profile similar to that of today’s great white shark.

A 2020 study by the team of paleobiologist Kenshu Shimada, of DePaul University in Chicago, indicates that megalodon reproduction occurred through incubation inside the mother’s body.

These studies suggest that one embryo devoured other offspring, cannibalism which contributed to the animal’s growth.