New study suggests megalodon was a sleek and streamlined 80 feet long

Everyone's favorite prehistoric shark may have been much sleeker and much larger than previously thought. A new study suggests that the megalodon wasn't as stocky as the great white shark, and that it could have reached over 24 m (80 ft) in length.

As is the case with other prehistoric sharks, most of the fossil evidence of Otodus megalodon consists simply of teeth. This is because sharks' skeletons are made of cartilage, which tends not to fossilize.

Because the megalodon's triangular, serrated-edge teeth look much like those of the present-day great white (just larger), it has long been assumed that the two species were closely related, and thus very similar in appearance. That assumption was challenged in a 2022 study, however, and is now being refuted once again.

The new study was led by Prof. Kenshu Shimada of Chicago's DePaul University, and it involved the analysis of a rare fossilized megalodon vertebral column, unearthed three years ago in Belgium. The column (or "trunk") is almost complete, measuring about 11 m (36 ft) long, although the head and tail are absent.

In order to estimate the shark's entire body length, Shimada collaborated with colleagues in Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the UK and the US, obtaining head, trunk and tail measurements from 145 present-day shark species and 20 extinct species.

Based on the average proportions of the three body parts relative to one another, it was estimated that the Belgian megalodon had a 1.8-m (5.9-ft)-long head and a 3.6-m (11.8-ft) tail, bringing its total body length to 16.4 m (53.8 ft). This figure falls in line with previous body size estimates, but that being said …

Whereas the largest vertebra of the Belgian shark has a diameter of 15.5 cm (6 in), a fossilized megalodon vertebra discovered in Denmark measures 23 cm (9 in). That suggests a truly gigantic body length of 24.3 m (79.7 ft) and a weight of about 94 tons (85 tonnes).

Shimada's team noted that existing gigantic sharks – namely the whale shark and basking shark – have relatively slender bodies, which allow them to move their enormous bulk through the water without expending too much energy. By contrast, the large but not gigantic great white is fairly stocky.

Based on these and other findings, it is now believed that the megalodon may have been closer to the present-day lemon shark in appearance. Whatever the case was, you still likely wouldn't want to have met one in a dark alley.

"Many interpretations we made are still tentative, but they are data-driven and will serve as reasonable reference points for future studies on the biology of O. megalodon," says Shimada.

A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica.

Source: DePaul University