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Although you may know that Megalodon (Otodus megalodon) is the largest shark that ever existed, it is difficult to imagine how big they were, especially since they became extinct for millions of years. However, thanks to scientists, we were able to create a fairly accurate image of these prehistoric sharks. This includes more detailed comparisons of megalodon sizes.
Ever wondered what sailing with a megalodon would be like? Or if they were bigger than dinosaurs? We’ve created this complete Megalodon size comparison guide so you can see how these extinct rulers of the sea will match you, blue whales, dinosaurs, and even today’s great whites!
How big is Megalodon?
One of the coolest areas of science? It always changes, and as a result, we always learn more about animals – even those that have become extinct for 3.6 million years, for example, the megalodon.
In fact, it wasn’t until June 2021 that we began to better understand how large these extinct sea giants were, and it all started with a high school class understanding the formula previously used to estimate the length of the megalodon. not entirely true.
Prior to this, scientists estimated that the megalodon was 50 to 60 feet long. However, given the new advances that we have been able to make, it is not believed that megalodons were about 65 feet in length – this is the same as two school buses!
While they may be as small as two school buses, they definitely weigh more. In fact, with an estimated weight range of 28,000 pounds (for smaller mature males) to over 143,000 pounds (for the largest females), one megalodon could weigh as much as nearly six school buses!
And with teeth up to seven inches long (the same length as a butter knife), the megalodon is definitely not the kind of marine animal you’d like to swim with.
Undoubtedly, megalodons are some of the largest animals that have ever existed. However, how do they compare to humans and other deep-sea giants?
Comparison of the sizes of megalodon and humans
While you may have already decided that you don’t want to face one of these prehistoric giants, do you know how big you would be in comparison?
Well, let’s just say that you don’t need a Megalodon size comparison guide to know you were a snack for these giants.
First, you won’t be much larger than the dorsal fin of the megalodon, which is estimated to be about 5 feet 3 inches high. You will be less than half their height, which can be almost 13 feet – about half the length of a London bus!
Many museums have copies of megalodon jaws that can be photographed. Most people fit perfectly in the mouths of these giant sharks, which were almost 7 feet wide and had over 250 teeth in five rows.
In terms of weight, just a megalodon tooth can weigh more than a pound. Average human tooth? It only weighs about 0.018 ounce or 0.0011 lb. This means that it takes about 900 human teeth to weigh the same as a megalodon!
Megalodon vs blue whale
How does the largest shark ever exist compare to the largest animal in the world? Believe it or not, the blue whale can tip the scales in both size and weight compared to the megalodon.
If we look at the largest estimates of the size of megalodons, they peak around 227,510 pounds – more than two of Stonehenge Sarsen stones. However on minimum Average weight 290,000 pounds, the blue whale dwarfs these prehistoric sharks.
The largest blue whale ever recorded weighed 418,878 pounds, and the largest blue whale was probably at least 75% larger than the largest megalodons.
Blue whales can also grow over 80 feet (the largest reached 110 feet!), 20 feet longer than a megalodon could be. This means that the distance between the heights of these sea giants is about half of the telephone pole.
However, since the megalodon’s jaw span is large enough to swallow two adult humans standing side by side, chances are that it may have hunted a docile blue whale that would not have been able to resist five rows. teeth the size of a butter knife.
In fact, there is probably a reason why blue whales evolved. after megalodon became extinct. It is believed that baleen whales have become increasingly gigantic due to the lack of predators such as the megalodon to hunt them.
Megalodon vs. Mosasaurus
A prehistoric shark species, the megalodon lived after the largest dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Mosasaurus is an extinct reptile that lived about 66 million years ago (more than 40 million years before the megalodon roamed this season). Although they never shared ancient oceans with mosasaurs based on fossil records, what does the size comparison of mosasaurs and megalodons look like?
The fossils of the largest mosasaur discovered that these reptiles can grow up to 56 feet in length, which is almost 10 feet longer than the height of the letter on the Hollywood sign. However, it is still shorter than the Megalodon, albeit by only 4-11 feet.
Mosasaurus also weighed only about 30,000 pounds, which is only a fraction of the massive body of a megalodon weighing over 100,000 pounds! In fact, it would take about 8 mosasaurs to equalize the scale with the largest megalodon size estimates!
Megalodon vs large white size
Believe it or not, modern great white sharks are actually relatives of the megalodon sharks of the past. Both of these mackerel sharks are known to rule the ocean, but
wi
ll they be eye to eye?
Unlikely.
In fact, many megalodon size comparisons estimate that megalodons may be 50 times larger than their modern descendants. While the great white shark is one of the largest marine creatures today, even this shark, which reaches a maximum weight of 5,000 pounds, is nothing compared to the megalodons, which were 20 to 50 times larger.
At 7 inches long and weighing about a pound, even a megalodon tooth is larger than that of a large white, which rarely exceeds 2 inches in length!
In length, the megalodon wins again. While the great white sharks we know so well today can grow to an astonishing 20 feet – which is about the same size as one and a half Volkswagen beetles – it would still take almost three full-sized adult great white sharks to reach the same size. length. like a megalodon.
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