Megalodon, terror of the oceans Quiz

Answer: a six-story building

Megalodon was about 65 ft long, the height of a six-story building. Scientists extrapolate the size of megalodon from the size of fossilised teeth and even complete fossilised jaws that have been found. The jaws can be up to 3 metres wide. You could drive a car through a set of Megalodon dentures without scraping the paint! Liberty is 151ft, California redwoods are 330ft and the Eiffel tower 986 ft - a bit ambitious even for Megalodon!

Answer: giant tooth

From the Greek: mega = big + odon = tooth

Answer: a whale

Odobenocetops is an extinct whale that sifted the mud on the sea floor for food. Like the great white shark, Megalodon would have been an ambush predator, attacking Odobenocetops from beneath.
Scientists have concluded that of the marine life present in the prehistoric oceans at the same time as Megalodon, whales were the prey most suited to it. It may also have fed on large fish and seals or sea lions, but they were not really big enough to meet its required daily food intake, except in very large numbers.

Answer: to keep their bodies warm

Since sharks are cold-blooded, they don't have to eat as much as warm-blooded creatures, a lot of whose food intake is used to keep their bodies warm.

Answer: they had no predators

Megalodon was the most fearsome creature in the oceans and nothing attacked it. The giant razor-tentacled octopus is a figment of my imagination and Megalodon was not a cannibal.

Answer: cooling of the oceans

Like modern sharks, Megalodon did not like cold water. Fossils of megalodon teeth and jaws are found only in regions that were predominantly warm water environments. The cooling of ocean temperatures in the mid-Pliocene would have reduced the number of possible nursery sites on the continental shelf for the Megalodon pups.

In addition their prey, the whales, moved to colder polar waters where Megalodon could not follow.

Answer: megalodon had no bones

Shark skeletons consist of cartilage and not bone. Cartilage decomposes long before it can fossilise.

Answer: museums and private collectors

Collectors will pay up to a thousand dollars for a six-inch fossilised Megalodon tooth that still has its enamel and all its serrations. Teeth in pristine condition are rare: a few million years take their toll! Fossilised megalodon teeth can be up to 8 inches long and weigh up to a pound. By comparison the largest teeth of the Great White measure 3 inches (8 cm) and weigh only a few ounces.

Answer: they can be any colour at all

The colours of these teeth are interesting: the tooth becomes impregnated with minerals from the sediment in which it fossilises, and can be practically any colour at all, from blue to yellow, orange or red. The most common colour is a black root with blue-grey enamel.

Answer: hundreds were spread over 3 to 5 rows

Megalodon, like all sharks, would have had hundreds of finely serrated and razor-sharp teeth at one time, located in rows. Most sharks have about 3-5 rows of teeth: the first two rows are the ones in use for grasping the prey. As teeth are lost, broken, or worn down, the other rows rotate into place as needed. Sharks do not chew, but swallow huge chunks at once.