Pre-roll
Millions of years ago,
the megalodon shark
was one of the scariest creatures
to ever lurk in our seas.
And even before that,
the mosasaurs reigned supreme,
terrorizing every ocean creature in sight.
Both these creatures were the
apex predators in their separate eras.
But what would happen
if they had lived
during the same time and fought?
Before we begin our main event,
let's look at the tale of the tape.
Weighing in at 60 tonnes (66 tons),
you have the megalodon.
This giant shark
is 25 m in length (82 ft)
and swims up to 17 m/s (55 ft/s).
Watch out for its bite,
as it has a force of 278,000 kPa (40,000 psi).
The mosasaur is disadvantaged
in almost every aspect.
It's shorter by 5 m (16 ft),
it's about one-quarter of the megalodon's weight,
and it has only about half
of the bite power of the megalodon's mighty jaws.
But will the mosasaur
be able to make up for it with its
increased maneuverability?
Let's find out.
The megalodon begins by
hunting for its prey.
Since it never had any foes,
it will be the initial aggressor in this battle.
The megalodon's hunting style relies on
sneaking up beneath its prey and quickly attacking.
The shark spots the mosasaur
near the top of the water,
since that's where it mostly hunts its prey.
The mosasaur,
as a reptile,
also comes up for air every hour.
The megalodon approaches the mosasaur,
but as it begins to open its mouth,
the mosasaur is able to dodge it.
This is because, unlike the megalodon,
the mosasaur has defensive traits.
Although it was the apex predator in its time,
mosasaurs would also hunt each other.
This means the mosasaur knows how to fight.
And with that skill,
it's just able to narrowly dodge
the megalodon's initial attack.
Right now, the megalodon is confused.
After all, it never had to win any sort of battle,
unlike the mosasaur.
This is a rude awakening for the shark.
As the megalodon is confused,
the mosasaur is able to sneak away quickly.
Using its defensive traits,
the mosasaur uses this time to find some cover,
in hopes of getting the upper hand on the megalodon.
The mosasaur's forward-facing eyes
make it easy to spot the megalodon.
This means the mosasaur has binocular vision,
like a bird.
As the mosasaur stays in hiding,
it waits for the megalodon to get close enough.
Finally, it strikes.
Since the megalodon's body is
far too big for the mosasaur to bite,
the mosasaur attacks one of the megalodon's fins.
And despite the megalodon being such a massive,
intimidating creature,
the mosasaur is able to chew through it
quite easily.
That's because the megalodon
is made out of soft tissue and cartilage.
The only hard part of its body is its teeth.
As the mosasaur bites into the shark's fin,
the mosasaur might expect the megalodon to either retreat or die.
But since the megalodon shark is so massive,
it won't give up just yet.
With the mosasaur chomping on its fin,
the megalodon knows where the reptile is.
At this point, the mosasaur is trying to swim away.
And it can swim as fast as it wants to,
but despite being injured,
the megalodon is faster and will be able to catch the mosasaur.
The megalodon opens its mouth
and quickly chomps down on the mosasaur.
And oh! The mosasaur is down for the count.
And the New Champion of the Seas
is the megalodon!
Unfortunately, the megaladon won't be able to comment for its post-fight interview.
That's because this win
wasn't without consequences.
The megalodon took quite a beating,
more than it ever experienced before.
Depending on how bad the bite is,
the shark may bleed out.
But if it manages to survive,
it will continue on,
being the one true apex predator of the ocean.
Now that the megalodon shark has won this battle,
I wonder how it would fare against humans?
But we'll leave that story, for another WHAT IF.
post roll