Written by David Leggett | 27th August 2018
In our Expert Talks, we hand over the metaphorical pen to one of our experts to discuss a subject in their field of expertise. In this edition, natural history expert David Leggett, inspired by the hit film 'The Meg', gives us a glimpse beneath the surface of the prehistoric sea and reveals the reality behind the giants of the deep: the megalodon.
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Audiences worldwide are on the edge of their seats as I write, biting their nails as Captain Jonas Taylor - played by film hard-man Jason Statham (himself an ex-Olympic high-board diver) - is called in to rescue his ex-wife and her scientist colleagues. They are trapped at the ocean’s deepest point, the Mariana Trench, in a research submersible. Some years earlier, Taylor witnessed the destruction of a nuclear submarine at the bottom of the sea by an unknown, possibly extinct, sea giant. And yes, you’ve guessed it…it was no less than an unlikely survivor from pre-history, a Megalodon shark!
As the sole survivor of this deadly underwater attack, Taylor is the obvious candidate to “go below."
Regarded as one of the largest and most powerful marine predators ever to have lived, fossil remains of the ancient Megalodon shark, or Carcharocles megalodon to give it its full scientific name, suggest that this giant of the deep reached a length of 18 metres. Its large jaws could exert a bite force of up to 110,000 to 180,000 newtons (24,000 - 41,000 lbf), and its teeth were thick and robust, built for grabbing prey and breaking bone – no wonder it earned the name 'Megalodon' - 'big tooth'!
The image below shows a like-for-like comparison of a Megalodon tooth with those of today’s Great White.
Image credit: Brocken Inaglory
The size difference gives some idea of the size of Megalodon, a true giant at 18 metres long; whilst below right, a life-size sculpture of the creature takes centre stage at Mexico’s Museo de la Evolución de Puebla, together with a set of replica jaws – a true monster!
Image credit: Sergiodlarosa
Living during the Early Miocene - some 23 to 2.5 million years ago - up and until the end of the Pliocene - an era one normally associates with the Earth’s Giant Mammals like the Wooly Mammoth and Wooly Rhinoceros - it’s hard to imagine these prehistoric Land and Sea creatures co-existing. At the time it would certainly not have been safe “to go back into the water” (with apologies to Steven Spielberg’s 1975 Shark movie, “Jaws”).
Whether a modern-day Megalodon would sit quietly at the bottom of the Western Pacific’s Mariana Trench waiting for passing submersibles to bring on lunch is another matter – believed extinct for more than a million years, this particular monster should have come to science’s attention much earlier, one might suggest! But then again, that’s the magic of movies after all.
To celebrate this dramatic, cinematic re-appearance of such a giant from the deep, here at Catawiki we are hosting a special Megalodon – Fossil Shark Teeth auction, going public on Friday 31st August and closing for final bids on Sunday 9th September 2018. With some 30 or more of these deadly sharp and serrated specimens to choose from, shouldn’t you be taking a bite?
All of the Meg teeth listed in this one-off auction are top quality, with a range of size, shape and colour - from 3.5 to nearly 6 inches long! They were all found off the coast of North Carolina - whether any came up from the Mariana Trench is another matter altogether...
Discover more sharks | shark teeth | fossils
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