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Shark News:
Megladon: The largest shark that ever lived
8 November, 2008 : - - The Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida, has created Megalodon: Largest Shark that Ever Lived, a new traveling exhibition that highlights the evolution, biology and misconceptions regarding giant prehistoric sharks. Related to the modern great white and mako sharks, the 60-foot-long Megalodon lived worldwide until it became extinct 2 million years ago. Megalodon’s beautiful fossil teeth are prized by collectors.
This exhibit conveys current research findings of University of Florida paleontologists and showcases both fossil and modern shark specimens and full-scale models from several collections. Learn about the process of science and shark conservation. Walk through a sculpture of a 60-foot long Megalodon. Find out what they ate, its size and structure, how long it lived, who its neighbors were, how it evolved, and why it became extinct.
The Florida Museum of Natural History developed the exhibit with support from the National Science Foundation. Megladon is among the most highly studied prehistoric sharks in the world. Sharks are known to have been in existence for more than 400 million years - 200 million years before dinosaurs.
Megalodon models courtesy Florida Museum of Natural History
Visitors to the exhibit currently at The Bishop Museum will learn about the story of the Megladon and about modern shark specimens. The exhibit also provide facts on the health of our oceans and the survival of threatened species. For more information on this and other ongoing exhibits, please visit www.bishopmuseum.org or call (808) 847-3511.
The Big Kahuna
> Megalodon vanished 2 million years ago, but when cruising the oceans, it was king.
> Megalodon had 46 front row teeth, 24 in the upper jaw and 22 in the lower.
> Most sharks have at least six rows of teeth, so a Megalodon had about 276 teeth at any given time.
> Megalodon was about 60 feet long with a body mass of about 77 tons.
> Some scientists estimate that Megalodon ate about 2,500 pounds of food every day, including whales & other large fish.
> Megalodon lived throughout most of the ancient world's oceans, from 17 to 2 million years ago.
> Ancient people collected Megalodon teeth and traditional legends feature giant sharks.
> Megalodon may be extinct but it's still with us...starring in books and movies, on stamps and jewelry,
> and even in cartoons and video games.
Sharks Rule !
> Sharks have been around for more than 400 million years.
> Sharks existed about 200 million years before dinosaurs.
> There are more than 375 species of sharks living today.
Not so Cool !
> Humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks, skates and rays every year.
> The life history of most shark species makes it difficult for populations to rebound.
> Shark overfishing has a domino effect in the marine food web.
more info: www.bishopmuseum.org
Florida Museum of Natural History
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