Is the megalodon still alive? 'No. It's definitely not alive in the deep oceans, despite what the Discovery Channel has said in the past,' notes Emma. 'If an animal as big as megalodon still lived in the oceans we would know about it.'
This is a popular piece of evidence used. However, there have NEVER been any recent megalodon teeth found. The most recent ones are still over 2 million years old. The origin of "recent megalodon teeth" started in the 1950's.
A very small portion of the Zurich study's data — 6 out of 10,000 simulations — showed a 1% chance that these giant sharks could still be alive.
Why is the Megalodon Still So Captivating? Megalodons are fascinating to us because they were huge, effective and fearsome. There's nothing else quite like them, says Shimada.
There is no evidence that scientists are currently trying to bring back the megalodon. In fact, its doubtful that they ever will. This is because the megalodon went extinct millions of years ago. And there is no way to bring it back since theres no viable DNA to clone them.
A study of the ocean giant's fossil teeth suggests it had to compete for food with another ferocious predator, the great white shark. The battle for diminishing stocks of whales and other prey may have pushed the megalodon to extinction three million years ago.
Extinct Species: Pyrenean Ibex
The Pyrenean ibex is possibly the only extinct animal that has successfully been brought back to life — though it only lasted for a few minutes. The last of the animals died out in 2000, but three years later scientists used its frozen cells to clone a calf.
Megalodons are extinct. They died out about 3.5 million years ago. And scientists know this because, once again, they looked at the teeth.
Sharks, unlike other fish, don't have bones, so no megalodon shark 'skeleton' has ever been found. Megalodons succumbed to global cooling due to the shrinking of their habitat, the vanishing of their favorite prey, and competition from other predators 3.5 million years ago.
So far we've only found teeth and vertebrae of megalodons. Like other sharks, most of their skeleton is made from cartilage which doesn't preserve well in the fossil record.
The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is the largest fish in the world. It is found in tropical and temperate oceans, in both deep water and coastal areas.
The Otodus megalodon, commonly called the megalodon, is famous for its massive size. Weighing up to 50 tons and measuring up to about 60 feet in length, the meg was the largest shark ever to exist.
Megalodon, the biggest shark that ever lived, may have been killed off thanks to the success of the great white, new research suggests. A study of elemental traces in their teeth implies the huge sea monster faced competition for resources from its smaller and more nimble rival, say scientists.
To give you a general price range for commercial grade (has some defects) Megalodon teeth. 2-3” teeth will typically be in the $20 to $60 range, 3-4” teeth will fall into the $50-100 range, 4-5” teeth the $100-200 range, 5-5 ½” teeth $200-400, etc.
The deep ocean is too cold for them to survive. Megalodons were extremely large animals that ate other extremely large animals. Nothing big enough or numerous enough to sustain them lives in the Mariana Trench.
While Deep Blue may be one of the largest fish in the ocean, these creatures can still be elusive and NOAA estimates a great white shark lifespan to be around 30-70 years so there's every chance Deep Blue is still alive and well in the ocean to this day.
1. Great White Shark. Great white sharks are the most aggressive sharks in the world has recorded 333 attacks on humans, with 52 of them being fatal. The inclusion of this particular species probably comes as no surprise since movies, particularly Jaws, and television shows are quick to show their aggression.
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the largest shark, and indeed largest of any fishes alive today. They feed on plankton and travel large distances to find enough food to sustain their huge size, and to reproduce. Whale sharks are found in all the tropical oceans of the world.
The largest megalodon teeth ever found have been just over 7 inches. The size of the tooth indicates that this particular megalodon was between 45 and 50 feet long. Paleontology curator Stephen Godfrey told CNN that Molly's discovery was a "once-in-a-lifetime kind of find."
Although Megalodon teeth are frequently discovered, a full megalodon jaw has never been discovered. Saltwater breaks down cartilage, so all megalodon jaws have likely dissolved.
The Megalodon weighs in at upwards of 50-70 tons, measuring a span of up to 60-70 feet in length. By contrast, the Blue Whale tips the scale at around 100-110 tons and tops lengths of up to 100 feet. Who Wins on Size? It's pretty obvious that the Blue Whale is the bigger apex predator in this fight.
Unfortunately, DNA slowly degrades, and once it's gone completely, there's no way to recover it. Researchers believe DNA has a half-life of 521 years, so after 6.8 million years, it's believed to be completely gone. That's why species like dinosaurs have virtually no chance of de-extinction.
Colossal Biosciences is on a quest to bring back extinct animal species. In the past year and a half, the company has announced plans to recreate the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. On February 2, 2023, the Texas-based startup added the dodo bird to its de-extinction list.