If I were to ask you to name a giant fish, you would probably call the Great White Shark (“Carcharodon carcharias”). This shark grows to about 20 feet (6 meters) long and is a fearsome predator. However, the great white shark is a minnow compared to one of the sharks of the prehistoric past, namely Carcharodon megalodon (generally known simply as “Megalodon”).

Megalodon was the largest carnivorous fish in history. It would have easily dwarfed a great white shark – the megalodon could grow to a length of 50 feet (15 meters), and its jaws were so large that an adult human could have walked through its open mouth without even having to bend down. Additionally, the jaws were filled with four different types of fearsome teeth.

Megalodon lived in the oceans from the Miocene epoch to the Pleistocene epoch, between about 18 million years ago and 1.5 million years ago. Fossils of this fish have been found in most parts of the world, so it appears that it was able to thrive almost everywhere (partly, no doubt, thanks to a warmer climate). That said, warm coastal regions appear to be the animals’ preferred breeding grounds.

The diet of the megalodon is believed to have consisted of cetaceans (whales, porpoises and dolphins), sirenians (sea cows), pinnipeds (sea lions, seals and other semi-aquatic animals) and probably, like other sharks, also some fish. However, whales were probably Megalodon’s most important prey – some whale skeletons with bite marks that appear to be from Megalodon have been found.

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