When did Megalodon really go extinct?

reply to post by sNaFu


I completely agree with you man, I have always felt the same way. Ever since I was little, imagining what if would have been like to actually witness what these giant sharks looked like when they existed has fascinated me. Of course, I would like to have witnessed it from far away lol. The creatures of our past are amazing to think about.

Originally posted by Thestargateisreal
reply to post by lordpiney

 

Why are whales not Eel like from the pressure?

Alex I will take, Thats one mammal of a whale! For 800 plz

Originally posted by Thestargateisreal
reply to post by lordpiney

 

Why are whales not Eel like from the pressure?

because they only spend relatively short periods of time at great depth's. 20-30 minutes before they have to come back up.

reply to post by Thestargateisreal


I've been interested in this topic for quite some years now, however for now, the only logical conclusion I can see is that they are most likely extinct. As cool as it would be to have pre-historic, giant sharks swimming around in the depths of the ocean it just doesn't add up if you consider that Carcharodon Megaladon was thought to be a coastal hunter. Another point to make is that there just isn't enough food down in the depths of the ocean to sustain much Megalodon life. It's all tiny plankton and microscopic.

So for now until further evidence hopefully shows up it makes sense that megalodon IS extinct.

Since we haven't even explored so much of our ocean sea beds it would be great if there was undiscovered wonders down there. Maybe if Megalodon had survived and dwells in the depths of the ocean it could feed on squid or what not. This is highly unlikely however as Megalodon was thought to like warm waters so it would take quite a wonderful discovery.

EDIT: To answer your question about teeth I believe it's to do with the cartilage structure of sharks. Cartilage decomposes but bone does not so only the teeth of the Megalodon will survive. 10,000 years is so tiny considering it was 1.6 million years ago this creature was thought to be extinct. Another theory behind the carbon dating of the teeth thought to be only 10,000 years or so old is that the data was incorrect. I'm no expert and I haven't seen any data myself obviously so I can only repeat the theories that I've read and picked up over the years. There are huge debates about this subject, many are on ATS already in this crypto forum, I remember reading some interesting, long debated threads about Megalodon around 10 years ago and they contained all the theories and more probably that I just mentioned.

I think the big sticking point is that the giant shark isn't built or adapted for deep sea, but instead, like it's modern relatives, it would be feeding in the same areas, and would have been spotted by now.

I'm perfectly happy to believe it to be extinct.... (can't wait to see Shark Night though, hehe...looks like an homage to the horror/gore movies of the 80's)....

Of course, we always thought things like that lungfish and the colossal squid were extinct too, only to find living specimens, so who knows.