Megalodon vs. Great White

What could grow longer than/then a school bus, weigh seven times more than/then an elephant, and have a bite three times stronger than/then a T. rex? Answer: the megalodon.

The megalodon was a massive shark that prowled the oceans tens of millions of years ago. This giant predator is the biggest shark ever to have existed.

Staring into the giant mouth of a megalodon would have been pretty terrifying. Megs had more than/then 200 razor-sharp teeth, each as big as your hand. It’s thanks to those teeth that we know as much about megs as we do.

When a meg lost a tooth, the tooth would sink to the ocean floor. Than/Then, over millions of years, the tooth would become a fossil. Such fossils have helped scientists learn where megs lived (in warm waters, close to shore) and what they ate (whales, large fish, and other sharks).

Megalodons became extinct about 3.5 million years ago. Back than/then, many marine animals were dying off. But megs weren’t just any animal—they were among the most powerful predators Earth has ever seen! So why didn’t they survive?

Competition with great white sharks for food may have been a factor. Each meg needed a whopping 2,500 pounds of food daily, so megs may have struggled to find enough to eat. Because the great white was smaller, it needed less food. That may have helped it outlast the mighty meg.