The Megalodon ruled the oceans for nearly 15 million years before going extinct 3.6 million years ago. At around three times the size of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), it was the largest shark the world had ever seen. Scientists are not exactly sure how it looked because most of the fossils are teeth, but they do know that its jaw was wide enough to gulp down a human whole. A shark attack from a Megalodon would have meant almost certain death.
“Unlike the shark attacks of today that many humans survive, the sheer size and strength of a test bite from Megalodon would have been impossible to survive,” says Daniel Sigman, professor of geological and geophysical sciences at Princeton University. Even though this shark terrified other creatures millions of years ago with its massive chomp, it still fascinates scientists and people alike today.
