Megalodon

"Only now do we know the true story- Megarachne was a giant prehistoric sea scorpion." The following card or its illustration are outdated. When transcribing the information from the card itself, please refrain from updating or changing the text in the process, and leave this for the trivia section.

Megalodon
Front Back
Monsters of the Past
Previous	Amargasaurus
Next	Triceratops
Card	10
Creature Features
Species	Carcharodon megalodon
Size	Length up to 55 ft.; Weight up to 48 tons
Where?	Fossils have been found off the coasts of the Americas, Europe and Australia
Prey	Prehistoric whales
Body parts	Whopping tail, monster teeth, massive jaws
Did You Know?
Some people claim to have spotted a monster shark the size of megalodon; their reports have fueled rumors that megalodon still survives in the depths of the oceans.

Megalodon is the great-grandfather of the top predatory shark living today, the great white. But megalodon was much bigger-a double dose of "Jaws," and then some. Megalodon measured more than twice as long as the biggest great white and weighed about 44 tons more. This monster sliced through mammoth prey-mainly whales-with its long teeth, each with an ultra-sharp, saw-tooth edge.

Tale of the Teeth: Almost all of what scientists know about megalodon comes from its fossilized teeth. The largest of the shark's triangular teeth are 7 inches long-more than twice the size of the great white's teeth.

Now Those are Jaws: With such large teeth, the shark needed massive jaws to hold them. Scientists have recreated megalodon's jaws, which measured 6 feet wide. The shark could have swallowed a horse in one gulp.

The Bigger They Are...

Megalodon's massive jaws could slice a whale in two.

Nobody knows why this massive predator went extinct, but there are some clues. Megalodon only lived in warm waters, but the oceans began to chill, which sent the sharks toward the coasts as the whales they ate moved even farther north and south. Some scientists think young megalodons became prey for killer whales and other predators in shallow waters, thinning each generation until the sharks were gone.

Tall Tail: Megalodon's tail would have been large and muscular to propel the shark through ancient oceans. Judging by the beast's huge proportions, its tail would have measured up to 13 feet from tip to tip.

Whale of a Meal: Only large prey would have been meaty enough to satisfy the hunger of such a massive predator. Megalodon hunted prehistoric whales that measured 80 feet in length and weighed more than 70 tons.

Timeline

Megalodon lived from 18-1.6 million years ago during the Tertiary and Quaternary Periods.

Trading Card

Megalodon The biggest shark of all time, megalodon was the undisputed king of the seas 20 million years ago. Six-inch teeth made short work of prehistoric whales that were twice the shark's size. Say What? Megalodon is considered the great white shark's great grandfather. Stats Life 140 Attack 8 Defense 7

Trivia

• As referenced in the opening paragraph, being at the time considered an ancestor of the Great White Shark, the two sharks share the same genus.
  • As of some time around the late 90s, the megalodon is no longer considered an ancestor of the great white, believing to have diverged off from them at some point during the Cretaceous; it is now known as Otodus megalodon.
• The megalodon is featured on several Monster Mania cards:
  • It is first featured in Size Them Up on Monster Mania 12.
  • It is then featured in Fossil Finders on Monster Mania 26.
    • The fossil used for the game is the same one pictured on the back of the knowledge card, but with the kids removed.
  • It is then featured in Timeline Tracker on Monster Mania 37.
  • It is once again featured in Man & Beast on Monster Mania 40.
  • It is next featured in Where In The World? on Monster Mania 49.