When my children ask me, “What’s your favourite dinosaur?” I always respond, “A megalodon.” This is much to their disgust, as they expect the stock answer of Rexy or Dippy. But as a shark enthusiast, I may need to change my answer and say great whites (and their ancestors) after scientists have showed the two species coexisted and competed – and it would appear the great whites won.
I wasn’t being entirely honest with my kids, who rightly point out that megalodon existed some time after the last dinosaurs died out (excluding birds). But it was nonetheless a true beast, the largest predator ever to inhabit our oceans, growing to a phenomenal size of 18 metres and weighing in at over 50 tonnes. For comparison, a great white can grow up to 6 metres but weighs less than 2 tonnes.
