It’s a cryptid many say will soon be rediscovered the megaladon.
An animal that has been the star of book movie and television.
The supersized predator holds a special and terrifying place in the hearts and minds of
many.
Over the years evidence for the thought to be extinct giant fish still living has been
growing So let’s a take a look
Welcome to if……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The Meg, as it has become affectionately known, was a giant shark that cruised the oceans
of the Pliocene.
A member of an extinct species of megatooth shark that is considered to be the largest
shark of have ever lived, as well as the largest fish to have ever existed.
Many people are convinced that the 54 feet (16.5 meter) mega predator is still hiding
in today’s oceans.
A couple of recent news reports of large sharks being attacked by something bigger has added
fuel to the fire which burns in the bellies of those that say The megaladon lives.
First up is the report of a 12-foot shark that was bitten a number of times, leaving
the animal with scars and chunk missing from its tail.
Something had torn into this 12-foot shark which was spotted off of the coast in the
waters of Cape Cod.
The fin of the shark showed teeth marks which extended around the shark’s hulking body,
this evidence captured by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.
The shark they photographed was named Chex and when asked what could have attempted to
take a bite out of the giant fish the researchers said:
“We do not know how this happened, but our science team can hypothesize that the (tail)
injury could have been caused by a boat strike or an interaction with another shark.
If you look around Chex’s gill slits, you can see the scar of a bite from another shark,
unfortunately, we do not know why another shark would bite Chex.
It is rare to record interactions between these animals.”
There was some speculation that claimed a male great white shark could be responsible
it was suggested that these male sharks may bite one another when competing for females
during the mating season, or that possibly female sharks themselves bite the males to
ward off their unwanted advances.
Great white sharks grow to “an average” of 15-to-20 feet in length and 2.5 tons, and
are considered “the largest predatory fish on Earth,” according to National Geographic,
but what if this was a sign of a larger predator.
A giant that could snack on other large fish and if it did feed upon sharks little in the
way evidence would be found.
A shark is made of skin, flesh and cartilage.
Cartilage is softer tissue, more flexible than bone, but still strong enough to hold
muscle and skin in place it is also less likely to survive ocean scavengers and wash ashore.
If a Meg was feeding on sharks I imagine what little it did leave would be hard to find.
Another story that could indicate this idea, happened a little while back when a Fisherman
caught a giant shark with a huge bite taken out of it.
The shark was caught by an Australian fisherman who landed the half-devoured fish while out
fishing for small shark off the coast of New South Wales Australia.
The fisherman, Jason, hooked the bronze whaler shark, which was promptly eaten by what was
thought to be a mako shark.
Talking about the strange event Jason told reporters:
"We didn't see what ate the shark” The fish would have been an estimated 250
kilograms (550 pounds) in weight.
The head alone weighed about 100 kilograms (220 pounds).
Looking at the size of the shark -- and the bite taken out of it -- it's tempting to speculate
that the mighty shark fell victim to some gargantuan ocean predator, a predator like
a Megaladon maybe?
When looking for evidence of these giant sharks the most common find are fossilized teeth.
Fossilized teeth have washed up on many beaches and scuba divers in places such as Africa,
North America, South America, India, Australia, Japan, and Europe often recover Meg teeth
from the ocean floor.
Based on this it is believed that the megaladon inhabited warm water oceans.
With this in mind, it is no surprise that when storm Jonas hit several North Carolina
beaches teeth were uncovered.
In the freshly whipped up waters Captain Simon Dean was out patent tonging for oysters.
This is when he emptied his cage and found something besides shellfish on his culling
table.
In addition to the oysters were three large megaladon teeth.
These teeth looking somewhat fresh, could they be from a living Meg?
Every now and then, these stories of fresh, un-fossilized megaladon teeth show up.
Disappointingly these stories are said to be false, those that find the teeth have the
wrong impression of the relic they found this because a megaladon tooth is not dark, fossil
megaladon teeth can be almost any color: black, brown, grey, blue, green, red, orange, pink,
yellow, to almost white, the color depending upon the precise chemistry of the sediment
into which the tooth was deposited.
This meaning that it is all too easy to think that the tooth is not that old or not a fossil.
This is where a little conspiracy creeps into the story with the idea that there is an active
cover-up going on to hide the fact that these giants live.
It said that This is done to protect the fish from people wanting to see it or even capture
it.
There is a lot of public interest in the creature enough for an Indiegogo campaign to have been
started which proposes the idea a website featuring the most terrifying sea creatures
in history where members are part of
the story.
The proposed interactive experience would see people observing the most terrifying sea
creatures that ever lived, each housed in the most advanced aquariums ever conceived,
and the animals and people react and respond to your presence.
So although we cannot see the giant in the real oceans of the world we may just be able
to see it in cyberspace.
What do you think does the megaladon still cruise the oceans of the planet, what is the
best evidence you have seen for the massive shark to still be alive?
Would you like to see and interact with Meg in a virtual world?
Let me know in the comments below.