The Megalodon was probably the largest shark in Earth's history. Now researchers have found a tooth of the prehistoric animal that has been untouched for millions of years.
Hawaii – With an impressive body length of up to 20 meters and its huge teeth, the megalodon towers over all other sharks. Extinct millions of years ago, it is considered the largest shark species in world history. Many people even believe that the giant prehistoric shark still exists.
Researchers can only speculate about the megalodon's appearance, as no complete skeletons have been found yet. Fossil tooth finds, on the other hand, are discovered relatively often because, according to researchers, they are well preserved due to their material. Particularly large teeth of the prehistoric shark were recently found near Venice in the US state of Florida. Now researchers have discovered another fossilized tooth – it is said to be as big as a human hand.
Incredible find: Research team discovers fossil tooth of basking shark southwest of Hawaii
The prehistoric shark has the scientific name Otodus megalodon – which means giant tooth shark in German. Based on fossil tooth finds, it is assumed that his teeth were up to three meters wide and over two meters high.
Like the online portal sciencealert.com According to reports, researchers aboard the exploration vessel (EV) Nautilus made the incredible discovery southwest of Hawaii at a depth of 3,000 meters. Images from a remote-controlled submersible showed the fossil tooth partially encrusted in manganese but well-preserved. When the research team examined the ancient tooth on land, they found it had a broken tip and jagged edges. Scientists believe the megalodon tooth is at least 3.6 million years old. Made on another expedition a marine explorer makes a stunning discovery and filmed a huge shark swimming right under his boat.
Hawaii: Fossil tooth discovery of Megalodon exceptionally well preserved
A shark sheds up to 40,000 teeth in its lifetime. According to scientists, the megalodon was no different. “There are areas of the seafloor, particularly deep ocean basins far from land, where little or no sediment is deposited over long periods of time,” explains Tyler Greenfield, a paleontologist at the University of Wyoming.
“It is also possible that the teeth were eroded and incorporated into younger sediments, but that is unlikely to have happened in this case. The tooth was found on the crest of a mountain ridge, where ocean currents are believed to be strong enough to prevent sediment accumulation. The serrated edge of the tooth was also exceptionally well preserved, indicating that the tooth had not been thrown back and forth and therefore eroded,” he continued.
Fossil tooth discovery: What makes it so special
According to the online platform, the fossil tooth discovery is not the largest of its kind. The newly discovered tooth (which measures a modest 63-68 millimeters) still joins the growing number of specimens that allow the megalodon's movements to be tracked across the oceans .
By looking at the historical records of past deep-sea expeditions, Jürgen Pollerspöck of the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Germany and his colleagues have identified numerous other megalodon teeth recovered from depths ranging from 350 to 5,570 meters. However, this is the first tooth to be documented in its final resting place as it was found.
Because of their size, sharks have no natural enemies. But off the coast of Florida a huge tuna hunted a shark. Meanwhile, in July 2023, an angler made an incredible catch off the coast of Mallorca – he had a giant shark on the fishing rod. (vw)
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