Does Megalodon Still Exist?
Does Megalodon still exist somewhere in the ocean? Probably not.
While people love the idea that Megalodon is still around somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, this is unlikely. A large, apex predator like the Megalodon shark would have left a large footprint in its ecosystem. If it was still around today, we would expect to see whale carcasses that are washed ashore with huge bite marks on the side of them or even non-fossilized Megalodon teeth. It’s more than likely that Megalodon went extinct, but that raises an important question. Why did it go extinct?
The world was changing 3.6 million years ago during a time called the Pliocene. This is when we find the youngest Megalodon fossils. The oceans were getting colder. The prey that Megalodon specialized in hunting were either becoming extinct or migrating to areas where Megalodon could not follow. Also, recent studies show that the newly evolved Great White Shark may have competed with Megalodon for food.
Maybe you will be the next paleontologist that helps us figure out why Megalodon became extinct!
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