The megalodon

The megalodon (pronounced MEG-a-la-don; meaning "big tooth" in Greek from μέγας and ὀδούς), Carcharodon megalodon or Carcharocles megalodon (in dispute), was a giant shark that lived in prehistoric times. The oldest remains of this species found are about 18 million years oldand C. megalodon became extinct in the Pleistocene epoch probably about 1.5 million years ago. It was the apex predator of its time and is the largest carnivorous fish known to have existed.

C. megalodon could grow to more than 18 metres (59 ft) long and is also quite possibly the largest shark ever to have lived. From scrutiny of its remains, scientists postulate that C. megalodon belongs to order Lamniformes. However, scientists are still debating that which genus would be most appropriate for C. megalodon, from the two proposed. Fossil evidence has revealed that megalodon fed upon large marine animals.

Taxonomy

A Swiss naturalist, Louis Agassiz, gave this shark its scientific name, Carcharodon megalodon in 1835,^[3] in his research work Recherches sur les poissons fossiles (Research on fossil fish), which he completed in 1843. The teeth of the megalodon are morphologically similar to the teeth of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias. On the basis of this observation, Agassiz assigned the genus, Carcharodon to the megalodon. While the scientific name is C. megalodon, it is often informally dubbed the "mega-tooth shark" or "giant white shark."

Classification dispute

Even after decades of research and scrutiny, the controversy on phylogeny of C. megalodon still persists.^[1][2] Several shark researchers (e.g. J. E. Randall, A. P. Klimley, D. G. Ainley, M. D. Gottfried, L. J. V. Compagno, S. C. Bowman, and R. W. Purdy) insist that C. megalodon is a close relative of the great white shark. However, several other shark researchers (e.g. D. S. Jordan, H. Hannibal, E. Casier, C. DeMuizon, T. J. DeVries, D. J. Ward, and H. Cappetta) dismiss the proposal that C. megalodon is a close relative of the great white shark, and cite convergent evolution and heterochrony as the reasons for the dental similarity. Most paleontologists, convinced by the arguments, favor Carcharocles genus more over Carcharodon genus for C. megalodon.