But to study the whole animal is difficult considering that all we really have are lots of isolated teeth." Megalodon was actually the very animal that inspired me to pursue paleontology in the first place at just six years old, so I was over the moon to get a chance to study it. It's that sense of danger, but also that sharks are such beautiful and well-adapted animals, that makes them so attractive to study. As an undergraduate, I have worked and dived with Great whites in South Africa-protected by a steel cage of course. Jack Cooper said: "I have always been mad about sharks. Their findings are published today in the journal Scientific Reports. Humberto Ferrón of Bristol also collaborated. Catalina Pimiento from Swansea University and Professor Mike Benton, a paleontologist at Bristol. ![]() The project was supervised by shark expert Dr. Jack Cooper, who has just completed the MSc in Palaeobiology at the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, and colleagues from Bristol and Swansea used a number of mathematical methods to pin down the size and proportions of this monster, by making close comparisons to a diversity of living relatives with ecological and physiological similarities to Megalodon. The fossils of the Megalodon are mostly huge triangular cutting teeth bigger than a human hand. ![]() Its fossil relative, the big tooth shark Megalodon, star of Hollywood movies, lived from 23 to around three million years ago, was over twice the length of a Great White and had a bite force of more than ten tons. Today, the most fearsome living shark is the Great White, at over six meters (20 feet) long, which bites with a force of two tons. There is a grim fascination in determining the size of the largest sharks, but this can be difficult for fossil forms where teeth are often all that remain.
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