Longer, Refined Super Predator: A study to draw more accurate pictures of the true form of Megalodon

Megalodon has long been imagined as a giant great white shark, but new research suggests that all perceptions are wrong. This study shows that prehistoric hunters had longer bodies, even lemon sharks and large whales.

Researchers from the University of California, Riverside and around the world have used a new approach to estimate the full-length shark’s body, beyond traditional methods that rely primarily on teeth size. We determined a more accurate proportion of head, body and tail by examining the vertebrae of Megalodon and comparing it with over 100 species of living and extinct sharks.

Findings published in the Journal Palaeontologia Electronica suggest that prehistoric predators may have reached approximately 80 feet or two school buses in length. It also weighs an estimated 94 tonnes, comparable to a large blue whale, but uses a body designed for energy-efficient cruises rather than continuous high-speed tracking.

“This study provides the most robust analysis of the size and shape of megalodons,” said PhD shark biologist Philip Stahnes. With ucr. “It wasn’t like an oversized, great white shark, but it was actually like a giant lemon shark with a slender, elongated body. Its shape makes much more sense to move the water efficiently.”

The great white shark has a stubborn, torpedo-shaped body made for bursts of speed, with a wide central part that tapers sharply towards its tail. In contrast, lemon sharks have a more prominent, more uniform body shape and no noticeable taper. The longer, more cylindrical build allows for smoother, more energy-efficient swimming.

As this study suggests, if the megalodon had body structures like lemon sharks, it would have been much more refined than the bulky predators often portrayed in popular media.

Sharks, like planes and Olympic swimmers, need to travel smoothly and easily with minimal drugs.

“You put your head on and lead when you’re swimming because it’s more efficient than guiding your stomach,” said UCR biologist Tim Hyam, who provided insight into research into how animals pass through the water. “Likewise, evolution moves towards efficiency most of the time.”

This study highlights that larger aquatic animals, including sharks, whales and even extinct marine reptiles, follow a similar pattern in terms of body proportions. “Swimming physics limits how stocky and stretchable large predators are,” Hyam said.

This study also highlights the swimming ability of Megalodons. While debates are furious about whether it is a fast predator or a slower, cruising hunter, new discoveries suggest a balance. Sharks are capable of plunging forward when attacking their prey, and may be swimming at moderate speeds. Given its size and energy demand, a constant high-speed swimming would not have been efficient.

The study also shows that as a newborn, the megalodon could have been nearly 13 feet long, the size of an adult Great White shark. “It is entirely possible that the Megalodon puppy had already defeated a marine mammal right after it was born,” Stearns said.

An important breakthrough in this study was identifying lemon sharks as the highest living analogue of megalodon proportions. Unlike the great white, lemon sharks have a more elongated body. It was a near perfect match when researchers extended the lemon shark proportion to the estimated length of megalodon.

“This study not only refines our understanding of what megalodons look like, but also provides a framework for studying how size affects marine animals’ movements,” Starnaise said.

In addition to reconstructing our understanding of megalodons, this study also provides insight into why only certain animals can evolve at large scale.

“Tigerism isn’t just about getting bigger, it’s about evolving the right body to survive on that scale,” Starnes said. “And Megalodon may have been one of the most extreme examples of that.”