Updated

Updated · Forbes · Jun 28

Rediscovered Megalodon Vertebrae Back 24.3-Meter Size Estimate, Hinting at 96-Year Lifespan

Updated

Updated · Forbes · Jun 28

Rediscovered Megalodon Vertebrae Back 24.3-Meter Size Estimate, Hinting at 96-Year Lifespan

Q: For the first time, a Megalodon's last meal has been found. What does this discovery prove about its hunting habits?

It shows that megalodon did not feed only on whales; it also ate other very large marine animals, including basking sharks, and likely hunted or scavenged them as an apex predator. The evidence comes from tiny scales and gill-related structures from a basking shark found in sediment around the rediscovered Danish megalodon vertebrae. Researchers interpret these remains as possible stomach contents, making this the first direct fossil evidence of a megalodon’s prey preserved with its body. That matters because it strengthens the case that megalodon was an opportunistic feeder with a broad diet, not a narrow specialist. A basking shark is a huge filter-feeding shark, so the find indicates megalodon was capable of taking or consuming large shark prey as well as marine mammals. In practical terms, it supports the view of megalodon as a top-tier predator that could exploit whatever large prey was available in its environment. The discovery does not prove whether the animal was definitely hunted alive or scavenged after death, and the researchers themselves frame it as “hunted or scavenged.” But it does provide the clearest direct evidence yet that basking sharks were on the menu, expanding scientists’ understanding of megalodon’s feeding habits and ecological role.

3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jun 28

Danish Megalodon vertebrae lost since the 1980s have been rediscovered, letting researchers reexamine some of the largest shark vertebrae ever found from a specimen unearthed in the late 1970s.
9-inch vertebrae from the 10.8-million-year-old fossils support a 2025 estimate that the animal reached about 24.3 meters, the largest scientifically defensible size so far, though researchers say a complete skeleton is still missing.
Micro-CT scans found at least 64 growth bands, indicating the shark was at least 64 years old; a growth model suggests it may have lived as long as 96 years.
Basking shark scales and gill structures preserved with the vertebrae may be stomach contents, potentially the first direct prey evidence tied to Megalodon and a sign it fed on large marine animals.
Because shark skeletons are mostly cartilage and rarely fossilize, the Danish specimen remains a rare anchor for debates over Megalodon's maximum size, growth and feeding ecology.