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Description

Carcharocles megalodon was the final and largest species in the obliquus-megalodon lineage. It had a cosmopolitan distribution and appeared approximately 20.43 to 15.97 million years ago (mya), during the Burdigalian stage of the early Miocene and became extinct as recently as 3.6 mya, during the Zanclean stage of the early Pliocene (Pimiento et al., 2016) (Boessenecker et al., 2019). Along with their large size, the teeth of C. megalodon can be identified by their triangular, mesial-laterally broadened main crown, flared marginal edges of the crown, convex lingual crown face, mildly convex to flat labial crown face that slightly overhangs the labial face of the root, finely and regularly serrated cutting edge, robust root with a less concave “V” shaped root interlobe, faint lingual protuberance of the root, and a tall chevron scar on the lingual face (Cappetta, 1987) (Purdy et al., 2001). These teeth are primarily distinguished from those of C. chubutensis and all other obliquus-megalodon species by the lack of lateral cusplets in adults, although rarely these persist as a vestige (Perez et al., 2019).

C. megalodon inhabited warm coastal waters in the tropical to temperate latitudes (Pimiento et al., 2016), and was an apex feeding primarily on a variety of marine mammals, including moderately sized baleen whales (Mysticeti). C. megalodon was the largest non-tetrapod fish and one of the largest macropredatory animals to ever live. Estimates based on the relationship between tooth crown height (CH) and total length (TL) yielded lengths of approximately 15.9 metres for the largest specimens (Gottfried et al., 1996). However, equations based on CH are unreliably and often underestimate TL. The SCW method proposed by Perez et al. (2021) yielded a mean TL estimate of 20.3 metres for the largest C. megalodon tooth in their sample, this likely represents the maximum size of the species.

A cooling trend began in the Oligocene, and this eventually resulted in glaciation at the poles, this in tern lead to a decrease in sea levels in the Pliocene. This altered the dynamics of marine ecosystems and caused a decrease in cetacean diversity. Smaller whales became extinct and larger whales began to migrate towards the polls, where evidently C. megalodon could not follow. The extinction of C. megalodon correlates with this change in climate and the extinction of many cetacean linages, indicating this was likely the primary cause of its extinction. In addition, the appearance of the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) could have applied competitive stress onto C. megalodon, driving it to extinction (Boessenecker et al., 2019).

References:

Agassiz, L. (1843). “Recherches Sur Les Poissons Fossiles. (Tome III).” Imprimérie de Petitpierre.

Boessenecker, R. W., Ehret, D. J.; Long, D. J.; Churchill, M., Martin, E., Boessenecker, S. J. (2019). “The Early Pliocene extinction of the mega-toothed shark Otodus megalodon: a view from the eastern North Pacific.” PeerJ, 7: e6088.

Cappetta, H. (1987). “Chondrichthyes II : Mesozoic and Cenozoic Elasmobranchii.” In: Schultze, H. P, (ed). “Handbook of paleoichthyology (Volume 3B).” Verlag Dr. Gustav Fischer, 1-193.

Gottfried, M. D., Compagno, L. J. V., Bowman, S. C. (1996). “Size and skeletal anatomy of the giant megatooth shark Carcharodon megalodon.” In Klimley, A. P., Ainley, D. G. (eds.). “Great White Sharks: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias.” Academic Press, 55-89.

Perez, V. J., Godfrey, S. J., Kent, B. W., Weems, R. E., Nance, J. R. (2019). “The Transition between Carcharocles Chubutensis and Carcharocles Megalodon (Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes): Lateral Cusplet Loss Through Time.” Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 38(6), e1546732-.

Perez, V. J., Leder, R. M., Badaut, T. (2021). “Body length estimation of Neogene macrophagous lamniform sharks (Carcharodon and Otodus) derived from associated fossil dentitions.” Palaeontologia Electronica.

Pimiento, C., MacFadden, B. J., Clements, C. F., Varela, S., Jaramillo, C., Velez-Juarbe, J., Silliman, B. R. (2016). “Geographical distribution patterns of Carcharocles megalodon over time reveal clues about extinction mechanisms.” Journal of Biogeography, 43(8): 1645-1655.

Purdy, R. W., Schneider, V. P., Applegate, S. P., Mclellan, J. H., Meyer, R. L., Slaughter, R. (2001). “The Neogene sharks, rays, and bony fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina.” In: Ray, C. E. R., Bohaska, D. J. (2001). “Geology and paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, III.” Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, 90: 71-202.

Description

Carcharocles megalodon was the final and largest species in the obliquus-megalodon lineage. It had a cosmopolitan distribution and appeared approximately 20.43 to 15.97 million years ago (mya), during the Burdigalian stage of the early Miocene and became extinct as recently as 3.6 mya, during the Zanclean stage of the early Pliocene (Pimiento et al., 2016) (Boessenecker et al., 2019). Along with their large size, the teeth of C. megalodon can be identified by their triangular, mesial-laterally broadened main crown, flared marginal edges of the crown, convex lingual crown face, mildly convex to flat labial crown face that slightly overhangs the labial face of the root, finely and regularly serrated cutting edge, robust root with a less concave “V” shaped root interlobe, faint lingual protuberance of the root, and a tall chevron scar on the lingual face (Cappetta, 1987) (Purdy et al., 2001). These teeth are primarily distinguished from those of C. chubutensis and all other obliquus-megalodon species by the lack of lateral cusplets in adults, although rarely these persist as a vestige (Perez et al., 2019).

C. megalodon inhabited warm coastal waters in the tropical to temperate latitudes (Pimiento et al., 2016), and was an apex feeding primarily on a variety of marine mammals, including moderately sized baleen whales (Mysticeti). C. megalodon was the largest non-tetrapod fish and one of the largest macropredatory animals to ever live. Estimates based on the relationship between tooth crown height (CH) and total length (TL) yielded lengths of approximately 15.9 metres for the largest specimens (Gottfried et al., 1996). However, equations based on CH are unreliably and often underestimate TL. The SCW method proposed by Perez et al. (2021) yielded a mean TL estimate of 20.3 metres for the largest C. megalodon tooth in their sample, this likely represents the maximum size of the species.

A cooling trend began in the Oligocene, and this eventually resulted in glaciation at the poles, this in tern lead to a decrease in sea levels in the Pliocene. This altered the dynamics of marine ecosystems and caused a decrease in cetacean diversity. Smaller whales became extinct and larger whales began to migrate towards the polls, where evidently C. megalodon could not follow. The extinction of C. megalodon correlates with this change in climate and the extinction of many cetacean linages, indicating this was likely the primary cause of its extinction. In addition, the appearance of the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) could have applied competitive stress onto C. megalodon, driving it to extinction (Boessenecker et al., 2019).

References:

Agassiz, L. (1843). “Recherches Sur Les Poissons Fossiles. (Tome III).” Imprimérie de Petitpierre.

Boessenecker, R. W., Ehret, D. J.; Long, D. J.; Churchill, M., Martin, E., Boessenecker, S. J. (2019). “The Early Pliocene extinction of the mega-toothed shark Otodus megalodon: a view from the eastern North Pacific.” PeerJ, 7: e6088.

Cappetta, H. (1987). “Chondrichthyes II : Mesozoic and Cenozoic Elasmobranchii.” In: Schultze, H. P, (ed). “Handbook of paleoichthyology (Volume 3B).” Verlag Dr. Gustav Fischer, 1-193.

Gottfried, M. D., Compagno, L. J. V., Bowman, S. C. (1996). “Size and skeletal anatomy of the giant megatooth shark Carcharodon megalodon.” In Klimley, A. P., Ainley, D. G. (eds.). “Great White Sharks: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias.” Academic Press, 55-89.

Perez, V. J., Godfrey, S. J., Kent, B. W., Weems, R. E., Nance, J. R. (2019). “The Transition between Carcharocles Chubutensis and Carcharocles Megalodon (Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes): Lateral Cusplet Loss Through Time.” Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 38(6), e1546732-.

Perez, V. J., Leder, R. M., Badaut, T. (2021). “Body length estimation of Neogene macrophagous lamniform sharks (Carcharodon and Otodus) derived from associated fossil dentitions.” Palaeontologia Electronica.

Pimiento, C., MacFadden, B. J., Clements, C. F., Varela, S., Jaramillo, C., Velez-Juarbe, J., Silliman, B. R. (2016). “Geographical distribution patterns of Carcharocles megalodon over time reveal clues about extinction mechanisms.” Journal of Biogeography, 43(8): 1645-1655.

Purdy, R. W., Schneider, V. P., Applegate, S. P., Mclellan, J. H., Meyer, R. L., Slaughter, R. (2001). “The Neogene sharks, rays, and bony fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina.” In: Ray, C. E. R., Bohaska, D. J. (2001). “Geology and paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, III.” Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, 90: 71-202.