History Main / Megalodon

* ThreateningShark: Sharks portrayed as vicious, including ''Megalodon''.

* ThreateningShark: Sharks portrayed as vicious.

* SeaMonster: Large creatures that lurk in the ocean, including certain real life animals, such as ancient sea creatures, being portrayed as monstrous.

!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16855844250.40983700 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/megaloshark_small3_2261.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Film/{{Jaws}} We're gonna need a bigger boat.]] A '' way'' bigger boat.]]
What happens when you combine ThreateningShark with AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever, and PrehistoricMonster? You get this monstrosity. ''Otodus megalodon'' ("big, ear-shaped tooth") lived from 15.9 to 2.6 million years ago, was at least 15m long at the very minimum and probably could grow up to 20 meters (Making it two-thirds the size of a large modern blue whale), weighed 50-70 tons, making it the largest shark that ever lived along with being one of the largest apex predators of all time. An apex predator that reigned for 13 million years, it specialized in killing marine mammals with a focus on medium sized baleen whales. It was like a PhysicalGod of the animal kingdom, [[TheDreaded known by many as the]] {{Superboss}} [[TheDreaded of the entire Selachimorpha clade]] (which included ''every'' shark to ever evolved). It was an extremely fast swimmer (many paleontologists speculate anywhere between 5-7 meters a second at max speed), [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily had an army of]] '''[[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily 276 serrated]]''' [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily teeth, most the size of a human hand nested in its 10-foot-diameter mouth]], had a bite force twice the strength of a ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'', and would likely [[OneHitKill split a school bus sized whale in half with]] '''[[OneHitKill one]]''' [[OneHitKill bite]]. The only rival it had as the top predator was a contemporary predatory whale ''Livyatan'' that was roughly the same size.

The cause of this living war machine's extinction is hotly debated even to this day, but one of the leading theories is that it went extinct due to the closing of the Central American Seaway, the migratory, breeding, and hunting grounds of it and its prey. Another, more recent theory is that megalodon is just another casualty of radiation released by a supernova (or series of such) 2.6 million years ago, which was particularly deadly to the largest of animals and to animals which lived in shallow water. It might have also itself been subject to pressure by a ThreateningShark. No not something ''bigger'', but a type of mako shark evolved into the modern great white shark around this same time. Preying on the same food sources, great whites were faster, grew up quicker, smarter, and could handle colder water better thanks to a more efficient heating system. The rise of prehistoric orca whales was even more pressure.

Environmental factors in tandem with competition from newer, faster predators likely worked to drive the biggest predatory fish of all time extinct. However, in low grade schlock movies, [[NotSoExtinct it will be uncovered after being frozen in ice or lurking in deep-sea trenches]] and go on a superhunting rampage, tracking down our intrepid heroes all over the world before eating Boeing 747's in a single bite ''while flying''.

The appeal is simple. As a giant prehistoric shark, it combines the audience-pleasing qualities of [[Franchise/JurassicPark dinosaurs]], [[Film/{{Jaws}} sharks]], and [[Main/{{Kaiju}} giant monsters in general.]] Evidently, this generation is the one who became film directors because of Steven Spielberg. On that note, it'll almost always be depicted as looking like a giant great white, but its exact appearance in relation to other sharks is unknown, and most paleontologist suspect that this was unlikely.[[note]] Megalodon was originally thought to have been a close relative of the great white, but is now thought to have been from its own distinct lineage, which is now extinct. [[/note]]

SubTrope of ThreateningShark, PrehistoricMonster and SeaMonster. Compare KrakenAndLeviathan; GiantSquid.

Note that "megalodon" is the animal's specific epithet, not the generic name, so it should not be capitalized.

Basically a [[DireBeast Dire Shark.]]

Compare ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex''.
----
!! Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasGreatBattleOfTheMermaidKing'' the royal merpeople keep a living megalodon which they feed criminals to.
* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', the mermaid princess Shirahoshi has a pet megalodon [[ALizardNamedLiz named Megalo]]. He is actually very tame, so much so that [[spoiler:Luffy later smuggles Shirahoshi out of the castle by hiding her in Megalo's ''mouth'']].
* In ''Manga/KillerSharkInAnotherWorld'', the titular beast is effectively every movie monster shark combined. While it's default form when not killing people is a chibi shark that's roughly the size of a dog, it can also grow to become absolutely monstrous in size.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} summons an '''''army of them''''' in the ComicBook/New52, to the the point of memetic levels.
* ''ComicBook/InfinityInc'' villain Carcharo was a SharkMan who mentally commanded a school of 40 ft. Megaladons.
* Megalodons are seen living in the waters around Themyscria during Creator/GailSimone's [[ComicBook/WonderWoman2006 run]] on ''Franchise/WonderWoman''. ComicBook/SteveTrevor [[OhCrap reacts appropriately]] when one lunges at him.
** Justified, as Themyscria is home to many extinct, or supposedly mythical, creatures.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fanfic]]
* In ''Fanfic/TheSwarmOfWar'', the new Overmind make a swimming Zerg unit which is one of these. It is even called the Carcharlisk.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* The titular monster from ''Film/TheBlackDemon'' is a megalodon terrorizing an oil rig.
* A megalodon is seen battling with a pair of prehistoric whales in the opening of ''Dino Dana: The Movie''.
* ''Film/TheMeg'' centers on one [[spoiler:actually two]] of these emerging from a hidden deep-sea refuge in the present day. Naturally, chaos ensues.
* ''Film/{{Megalodon}}'': A 2002 shark film about oil drillers near Greenland who [[BeneaththeEarth uncover]] a huge deposit of surviving prehistoric animals (including the megalodon) which goes on a killing spree and crashes an airborne ''helicopter'' from deep below the surface which singlehandedly ruins everyone's day. At the end of it all one of the characters makes a HeroicSacrifice and the survivors get away... [[FromBadToWorse until ANOTHER one pops out]].
* ''Film/MegaSharkVsGiantOctopus'': The titular Mega Shark of this film and its three sequels is a megalodon, with one shark appearing in the first two films and two others of its kind each featuring in the third and fourth films.
* ''Film/SharkAttack3Megalodon'': While the first two films in the trilogy featured mutant Great White Sharks, the third in this series features a non-mutant Megalodon.
* In ''Film/SharkHunter'', the main character is orphaned as a kid by a megalodon. As an adult, he joins a team going into a trench to figure out the fate of an underwater research station. It was destroyed by a megalodon, which ends up assaulting the sub and causing general death and destruction.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* While not a megalodon per se, ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio'' is worth a mention for containing possibly the first "giant shark" in fiction. It has Pinocchio get swallowed by a giant sea creature known as "The Terrible Dogfish." "Dogfish" is in fact the literal translation of the Italian word for "shark", though it's typically depicted as being even larger than a megalodon. The Disney animated movie changed it to a whale.
* ''Extinct'' by Charles Wilson (one which was almost made into a TV miniseries).
* The Creator/AlanDeanFoster short story ''Literature/{{He}}'' is a fairly straightforward adventure story with some MaybeMagicMaybeMundane elements, in which an oceanographer tangles with a surviving megaladon in the waters off one of the remoter atolls of American Samoa; it was first published in 1976.
* In Peter Benchley’s ''Literature/{{Jaws}}'', Hooper compares the shark's size as “Damn near megalodon” and says that there could even potentially exist sharks that dwarf even the one they are hunting, which Quint dismisses.
* ''Killer Sharks: [[BasedOnAGreatBigLie the Real Story]]'', a 1977 book by Brad Matthews (actually by novelist Nelson [=DeMille=] to cash in on ''Film/{{Jaws}}''). Towards the end of this TallTale, 'Captain Matthews' hears rumors that the Megalodon might still be alive, and follows them to a remote Pacific island where the natives feed and worship a giant shark god.
* Steve Alten writes a lot of books with these; his novel ''Literature/{{Meg}}'' was about a megalodon that makes it to the surface after surviving down in the Mariana Trench. HilarityEnsues. It was loosely adapted into the film ''Film/TheMeg''. The novel and its sequels depict the megalodon doing such things as eating a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex in one bite and fighting other (equally oversized) underwater predators. In many ways, Alten's books are the TropeCodifier for how the megalodon is perceived in pop-consciousness.
* ''Megalodon'' by Robin Brown came out in 1981 before the prehistoric megashark became a household name (resulting it being republished under the uninspiring name of ''Shark''). The idea of megalodon being a shallow water predator is discussed, and while the book ''does'' have the shark surviving in a deep-sea trench, it goes out of its way to show how it's evolved and adapted to live there--it's become a slow-moving scavenger with highly sensitive eyes that can't tolerate bright light. Unfortunately, the US Navy is sending down submarines to survey the trench with intent to mine its rich load of gold and uranium, at the same time that the megalodon family gives birth to a more hungry and aggressive offspring.
* The ''Shark Wars'' series by EJ Altbacker stars a megalodon named Gray.
* ''Captain Nemo vs. Megalodon'' by Flash Rex is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin with the infamous captain from ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' in his Nautilus runs afoul of a living ''Otodus megalodon''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Creator/TheHistoryChannel series, ''Series/JurassicFightClub'', featured the Megalodon in an episode called "Deep Sea Killers". It portrayed a deadly battle between Megalodon and Brygmophyseter, a prehistoric sperm whale.
* In ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'', the Megalodon is one of the several powers based on animals (both prehistoric and modern) available in the series. Using these powers gives Revi and Vice various blade- and teeth-based attacks.
* The titular shark was featured in Discovery Channel's 2013 Shark Week mockumentary ''Film/MegalodonTheMonsterSharkLives,'' a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/MermaidsTheBodyFound'', which itself featured a Megalodon.
** The following year Shark Week aired another mockumentary titled ''Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine'' which is a fictionalised account of an attack on a group of people in South Africa by a nearly Megalodon-sized legendary great white nicknamed “Submarine” which is believed (but yet to be proven) to be real.
** In 2018, the network aired a second documentary about the Megalodon, titled ''Megalodon: Fact vs. Fiction''. This one was a lot more down-to-earth and less sensational than the first one, and went out of its way to debunk a number of common misconceptions surrounding the shark.
* Megalodon gets its own episode in the Creator/NationalGeographicChannel series ''Prehistoric Predators.''
* A megalodon features in two episodes of ''Series/SeaMonsters''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Slamming deathcore band ''Guttural Slug'' release an album called so.
* Music/{{Mastodon}}'s second album, ''Leviathan'', particularly the song "Megalodon".
* A djent band from ''South Africa'' is named after this behemoth.
* There are two American doom metal bands sharing this title, with one's logo typified as the mammoth in question.
* "Megladon (sic) Jaw" by underground Seattle rapper P-Wrecks.
* Paleo-artist Ray Troll, who is also a musician, wrote a song featuring the shark.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinball]]
* ''Pinball/{{Deadpool|2018}}'': One of the Quest modes involves Deadpool traveling back in time and facing off against a ''Megalodon'', ultimately managing to extract one of its teeth.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* WebVideo/BedtimeStoriesYouTubeChannel episode [[https://youtu.be/m4R3ehF5a_Q "There Is Something In The Water"]] mentions a RealLife incident where a Great White Shark that had been tagged by a tracker was killed and eaten by ''something'' much larger and fiercer than itself. Initially the marine biologists who were monitoring the tag thought the culprit was an orca, one of the few sea creatures that are known to willingly tangle with them, but some of the location data recovered from the rather battered locator indicated that the shark had been dragged to a depth far below the normal range for orcas or most other whales. The implication to all this being that it's possible that [[NotSoExtinct small numbers of megalodons are still down there somewhere.]][[note]]Skeptics have suggested that the locator may have simply given an inaccurate reading due to the pressure of being bitten[[/note]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
** In First Edition, megalodons are up to 50 feet long and can [[SwallowedWhole swallow smaller creatures whole]]. As was often the case in ''D&D'', swallowed creatures could cut their way out. Third edition megalodons are 100 feet long and are known to leap out of the water to snatch low-flying rocs or dragons.
** The patron deity of the [[SharkMan sahuagin]] race, Sekolah, manifests as a megalodon.
* ''TabletopGame/HollowEarthExpedition''. One of the most dangerous predators in the seas of the Hollow Earth is the megalodon, a shark that's more than 100 feet long and weighs more than 50 tons. They feed on whales and plesiosaurs, but avoid attacking the [[GiantSquid kraken]].
* A megalodon is one of the treasures that can be found in ''TabletopGame/SalvageHiddenTreasures''. It is very useful as it protects the player that owns it from any shark attack event.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'': Megalodons appear as part of the monstrous fauna that the Drowned Road, Titan of Water, controls.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', a type of giant regenerating Awakened shark is commonly called "megalodon" for its resemblance to the extinct species, although its scientific name differs.
* In Creator/{{Chaosium}}'s ''TabletopGame/{{Stormbringer}}'' supplement ''Demon Magic'', the adventure "Sorcerer's Isle" had a megalodon that could sink ships by biting through their hulls and a giant whale-like demon named [[KrakenAndLeviathan Lvthn]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/ArkSurvivalEvolved'': Megalodon (or rather, ''Ultramegalodon'') is a common threat to players exploring the game's oceans. However, if you have the time and resources on hand, you can actually domesticate it yourself.
* ''VideoGame/Battlefield4'' : In the Naval Strike DLC map, Nansha Strike, if you position at least ten players around the floating buoy in Conquest Large and wait a few second, a Megalodon will jump out of the water and return to the depths, [[{{The Juggernaut}} killing everything in its way.]]
* ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'' features a giant mutated shark [[InNameOnly named Megalodon]]. It was planned to be a boss, but has not been implemented as one so far.
* ''VideoGame/{{Depth}}'' lets you play as a megalodon against a team of divers in a 5v1 game mode called Megalodon Hunt.
* ''VideoGame/EverQuest'': Back during the beta period, the Megalodon was an absolutely gigantic shark found in Lake Rathe. It's jaw size was larger than a giant. Because the area itself is dotted with various islands, this made it extremely difficult for the monster to actually ''stay in the water'', and it was eventually removed from the game right before the game went live. The Megalodon would later be put back into Lake Rathe as a special encounter boss battle during the 2nd Epic Quest for the Shaman class, but it wasn't nearly as large as the original was.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': You can catch one, but not as a trainable monster or anything -- it's a ''fish'' and you catch one with a ''fishing rod''. You can even turn it into a display piece for your house, and it's a great conversation starter for company-mates and visitors!
* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' has at least two timed group events with champion [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot zombie]] megalodons
* ''VideoGame/{{Maneater}}'': The final growth stage of the titular shark is called "megalodon". Though as a bull shark, her relationship to the actual species ''Carcharocles megalodon'' is quite distant.
* ''VideoGame/TheOceanHunter'' uses Megalodon as its version of Leviathan, the boss of the second stage.
* ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'' has a megalodon as one of its summonable creatures.
* ''VideoGame/SeaOfThieves'': The expansion "The Hungering Deep" introduces the megalodon as a boss, which can be summoned or (in a later update) come across as a random encounter. That said, it more resembles some mutant monster shark rather than a megalodon, complete with ExtraEyes and SpikesOfVillainy.
* ''VideoGame/StrandedDeep'': One of these serves as a boss battle. Since the game takes place in modern times and there is no real explanation, it can be excused by RuleOfCool.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'':
** How does CommanderBadass end the survival derby? By making a DynamicEntry riding [[http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/hes-picked-up-a-trick-or-two-from-jared-in-their-travels-together a megalodon wearing a sweater!]]
--->'''Jones:''' Is that a megalodon? Did you knit that sweater for it?\\
'''Commander:''' '''[[LargeHam CORRECT ON BOTH COUNTS, JONES]]'''.
** The megalodon's later seen waving goodbye to the Commander after the derby ends. And yes, it got to keep the sweater.
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' mentions out of hand that megalodons were [[FossilRevival genetically recreated]] sometime between the 21st and 31st centuries, then hunted back to extinction. Then, real-time years later some mad scientist on a resort planet clones a bunch of different species of sea predator, including a megalodon that eats two of the Toughs on vacation ([[TooSpicyForYogSothoth fortunately the second one was wearing his armor]]).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEIiCc4_vjo Documentary animator Julian Johnson-mortimer]] featured the megalodon in several of their videos. Instead of a [[ThreateningShark bloodthirsty monster]] it's portrayed as a normal marine animal roaming about, with nursery grounds for smaller offspring. [[spoiler: And it proves to be NotSoInvincibleAfterAll when a [[MonsterWhale Livyatan]] dispatches even a fully grown adult.]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTPcq2HczVY PBS Eons]] released a free online documentary that summarizes the biology and history of the megalodon in very up-to-date terms, while occasionally taking playful jabs at movies insisting they are still alive. The conclusion is a combination of climate changes, ecosystem reorganization limiting food, and competition with great white sharks likely worked in tandem to cause the megalodon's extinction.
-->'''Kallie Moore''': "It turns out while megalodon would be the biggest shark that ever swam, it would eventually be defeated by the greatest."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AtomicPuppet'' once fought a villain named Megalo-Don, though this one's a tiny shark-lobster hybrid who can consume lava to become bigger and stronger.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheDeep'': In one episode, two of the Nektons end up stuck in the gills of one of these after nearly being eaten by it.
* Another "megalodon" that looks like a mosasaur appears in the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/DinoSquad''.
* One of the unaired {{Pilot}} episodes of ''WesternAnimation/KennyTheShark'' is a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN4jTtja6rI music video about Megalodon]], misspelled as "Megaladon".
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' episode, ''Play Them Ragtime Boos'', features a scene where the group are transported back in time to the Cenozoic Era in the middle of the ocean, where a hungry megalodon eyes them for lunch. [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology Said megalodon actually looks more like a mosasaur]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'': V.V. Argost, the BigBad, wears a bulletproof cape made from megalodon skin.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Some older articles or books likely gave the species the full scientific name ''Carcharodon megalodon''. This is because it was thought to belong to the same genus as, and possibly was the ancestor of, the modern great white shark, ''Carcharodon carcharias''. This is because the two have very similar teeth and hypothetically similar habits, because they both prey on marine mammals. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgY-fVSPIbc It turns out the megalodon and great white's physical resemblance]] was more coincidence and specifically because they were adapted to hunt the same prey, a process called convergent evolution. The megalon instead belongs to and was the last member of a now sadly extinct genus called ''Otodus'', whereas the great white shark is actually a super-sized and burly member of the mako shark family. This means reconstructions (and plenty of low budget movies reusing shark models) of megalodon that make it look like a giant version of the great white might not be very accurate, and the real animal probably looked quite different.

* A lot of conspiracy theorists or cryptozoological circles push forth the idea that megalodon yet lives in the modern oceans, inspiring more than a few mockumentaries and movies. Sites like youtube get flooded with videos of claiming reasons the enormous shark yet lives. While a lot of arguments seem sound at first, pretty much all of them fall apart under some critical thought and studies on the ocean. Sad as it is to say, there are no ''Otodus megalodon'' swimming the seas and humanity missed its chance to see a live one by a few million years.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p_Z_d6N4-w This video]] critically analyzes a presentation claiming for the megalodon's survive and very thoroughly debunks it.
[[/folder]]

The cause of this living war machine's extinction is heatly debated even to this day, but one of the leading theories is that it went extinct due to the closing of the Central American Seaway, the migratory, breeding, and hunting grounds of it and its prey. Another, more recent theory is that megalodon is just another casualty of radiation released by a supernova (or series of such) 2.6 million years ago, which was particularly deadly to the largest of animals and to animals which lived in shallow water. It might have also itself been subject to pressure by a ThreateningShark. No not something ''bigger'', but a type of mako shark evolved into the modern great white shark around this same time. Preying on the same food sources, great whites were faster, grew up quicker, smarter, and could handle colder water better thanks to a more efficient heating system. The rise of prehistoric orca whales was even more pressure.

* ''Film/MegaSharkVsGiantOctopus'': The titular Mega Shark of this film and its three sequels is a Megalodon, with one shark appearing in the first two films and two others of its kind each featuring in the third and fourth films.

* A Megalodon is seen battling with a pair of prehistoric whales in the opening of ''Dino Dana: The Movie''.

* In Peter Benchley’s ''Literature/{{Jaws}}'' Hooper compares the sharks size as “Damn near megalodon” and says that there could even potentially exist sharks that dwarf even the one they are hunting, which Quint dismisses.

* Steve Alten writes a lot of books with these; his novel ''Literature/{{Meg}}'' was about a megalodon that makes it to the surface after surviving down in the Mariana Trench. HilarityEnsues. It was loosely adapted into the film ''The Meg''. The novel and its sequels depict the megalodon doing such things as eating a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex in one bite and fighting other (equally oversized) underwater predators. In many ways, Alten's books are the TropeCodifier for how the megalodon is perceived in pop-consciousness.
* ''Megalodon'' by Robin Brown came out in 1981 before the prehistoric megashark became a household name, resulting in the novel being republished under the uninspiring name of ''Shark''. The idea of megalodon being a shallow water predator is discussed, and while the book ''does'' have the shark surviving in a deep-sea trench, it goes out of its way to show how it's evolved and adapted to live there--it's become a slow-moving scavenger with highly sensitive eyes that can't tolerate bright light. Unfortunately the US Navy is sending down submarines to survey the trench with intent to mine its rich load of gold and uranium, at the same time that the megalodon family gives birth to a more hungry and aggressive offspring.

Probably deserves honorary mention among StockDinosaurs, though nobody would mistake it for one.

* One mode in ''Pinball/{{Deadpool}}'' centers on the title character traveling back in time and fighting one of these.

The appeal is simple. As a giant prehistoric shark, it combines the audience-pleasing qualities of [[Franchise/JurassicPark dinosaurs]], [[Film/{{Jaws}} sharks]], and [[Main/{{Kaiju}} giant monsters in general.]] Evidently, this generation is the one who became film directors because of Steven Spielberg. On that note, it'll almost always be depicted as looking like a giant great white, but it's exact appearance in relation to other sharks is unknown, and most paleontologist suspect that this was unlikely.[[note]] Megalodon was originally thought to have been a close relative of the great white, but is now thought to have been from its own distinct lineage, which is now extinct. [[/note]]

What happens when you combine ThreateningShark with AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever, and PrehistoricMonster? You get this monstrosity. ''Otodus megalodon'' lived from 15.9 to 2.6 million years ago, was at least 15m long at the very minimum and probably could grow up to 20 meters (Making it two-thirds the size of a large modern blue whale), weighed 50-70 tons, making it the largest shark that ever lived along with being one of the largest apex predators of all time. An apex predator that reigned for 13 million years, it specialized in killing marine mammals with a focus on medium sized baleen whales. It was like a PhysicalGod of the animal kingdom, [[TheDreaded known by many as the]] {{Superboss}} [[TheDreaded of the entire Selachimorpha clade]] (which included ''every'' shark to ever evolved). It was an extremely fast swimmer (many paleontologists speculate anywhere between 5-7 meters a second at max speed), [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily had an army of]] '''[[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily 276 serrated]]''' [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily teeth, most the size of a human hand nested in its 10-foot-diameter mouth]], had a bite force twice the strength of a ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'', and would likely [[OneHitKill split a school bus sized whale in half with]] '''[[OneHitKill one]]''' [[OneHitKill bite]]. The only rival it had as the top predator was a contemporary predatory whale ''Livyatan'' that was roughly the same size.