{"id":1882,"date":"2021-02-01T02:40:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T07:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/?p=1882"},"modified":"2023-07-28T14:58:16","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T18:58:16","slug":"how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/","title":{"rendered":"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Need<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The megalodon shark once lived worldwide in tropical-temperate regions. Historically, the megalodon is estimated to be the world\u2019s largest predator shark ever to have existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Megalodon<\/a>
Megalodon jaws (replica), courtesy of N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the fossil record incomplete, it can make the estimations of large extinct taxa like the megalodon very hard to predict. In order to estimate sizes of extinct species, paleontologists must rely on the linear relationships of living relatives, such as the great white shark and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, these relationships remain questionable due to the vast difference in size between species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can the traits of other sharks from different lineages help scientists determine the size of a megalodon? Can the body dimensions of the great white shark, as well as other large predatory sharks alive today, inform the size of the head, dorsal fin, and tail height, of the extinct predatory megalodon?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did they study?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To help determine the most accurate body measurements of the megalodon, researchers used five species of shark \u2014 great white, shortfin mako, longfin mako, salmon shark, and the porbeagle \u2014 and compared dental, physical, and environmental similarities. They also used scaled images of these species to acquire accurate body dimensions at various life stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did they find?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The measurements taken confirm that the maximum size of a megalodon was about 50 to 60 feet. For reference, that\u2019s somewhere between the length of a tractor trailer (48 feet) and a bowling lane (63 feet).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 52-foot megalodon shark likely would have had a head of about 15 feet long, a dorsal fin of about 5 feet tall, and a tail about 12 feet high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anything else?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The largest estimated size of the megalodon is more than twice the size of the largest living shark in the Lamniformes family, which includes the great white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This analysis marks the first quantitative method used to determine the estimated size and shape of megalodon body parts. For example, the measurements of the dorsal and caudal fins suggest that these were used for swift predatory locomotion and long-swimming periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cooper, J.A., Pimiento, C., Ferr\u00f3n, H.G. et al.<\/em> Body dimensions of the extinct giant shark Otodus megalodon<\/em>: a 2D reconstruction<\/a>. Sci Rep<\/em> 10, <\/strong>14596 (2020). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41598-020-71387-y<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary compiled by Lauren D. Pharr<\/em>
\nLead photo: replica megalodon jaws at Fort Fisher Aquarium. Credit: Ryan Donnell, courtesy of VisitNC.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text from Hook, Line & Science<\/em> is available to reprint and republish at no cost with this attribution: Hook, Line & Science<\/em>, courtesy of Scott Baker and Sara Mirabilio, North Carolina Sea Grant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":1885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,530,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","category-sharks","category-uncategorized"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"yoast_head":"\nHow Big Was the Megalodon Shark? - Hook, Line and Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hook, Line and Science\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-01T07:40:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-28T18:58:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Staff\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/\",\"name\":\"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark? - Hook, Line and Science\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-01T07:40:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-28T18:58:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#\/schema\/person\/5d1852d1cac0b3869a8a4eadea737f3d\"},\"description\":\"New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1533,\"caption\":\"North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Fort Fisher, NC CMR: 6375892 North Carolina. Photo by Ryan Donnell\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/\",\"name\":\"Hook, Line and Science\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#\/schema\/person\/5d1852d1cac0b3869a8a4eadea737f3d\",\"name\":\"Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7837e3ab913421fe94405b7e1160c601?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7837e3ab913421fe94405b7e1160c601?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/author\/staff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark? - Hook, Line and Science","description":"New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark?","og_description":"New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.","og_url":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/","og_site_name":"Hook, Line and Science","article_published_time":"2021-02-01T07:40:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-07-28T18:58:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1533,"url":"http:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark?","twitter_description":"New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Staff"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/","url":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/","name":"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark? - Hook, Line and Science","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-01T07:40:16+00:00","dateModified":"2023-07-28T18:58:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#\/schema\/person\/5d1852d1cac0b3869a8a4eadea737f3d"},"description":"New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2021\/01\/Fort-Fisher-Aquarium-Family-Picture-at-Shark-Exhibit-Ryan-Donnell-VisitNC.com_-scaled-1.jpg","width":2560,"height":1533,"caption":"North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Fort Fisher, NC CMR: 6375892 North Carolina. Photo by Ryan Donnell"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/how-big-was-the-megalodon-shark\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Big Was the Megalodon Shark?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/","name":"Hook, Line and Science","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#\/schema\/person\/5d1852d1cac0b3869a8a4eadea737f3d","name":"Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7837e3ab913421fe94405b7e1160c601?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7837e3ab913421fe94405b7e1160c601?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/author\/staff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1882"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3242,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882\/revisions\/3242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}