Why once deadly teeth of a prehistoric shark get such a buzz?

A prehistoric shark called Carcharodom Megalodon made news in October 2012. Fossils of the biggest shark ever were discovered  near Tenerife of the Canary Islands of Spain on a bank called Banco ConcepciĆ³n at an ocean depth of 1000 meters.

When did this giant shark emerge before biblical times ?

This 'big tooth mammal' called for short Megalodon roamed warmer waters of the whole globe from about 25 million to 1,5 million years ago.

When did the Megalodon come by Tenerife ?

It certainly would have gone past the Tenerife Teno mountain range which is about four million years old. Of course, it would have been familiar with the Tenerife Anaga mountains, as they are eight million years old. There is no doubt that the giant killer of warmer oceans also had hunting grounds by other Canary Islands.

Most impressive attributes of this shark

This biggest of shark ocean mammals which may have last reached a size of about 75 foot or 15 to 20 meters had triangular, sharp pointed teeth which where close to 6 inches (15 centimeters) long. Its powerful jaw had a leverage of 18 tons that would have easily crushed small science fiction boats to swallow them.

Needless to say is that the most scary movies copied the teeth and jaw of this legendary traveler of the seas.

More scientific finds

The Megalodon fossils which were retrieved by the Spanish marine biologists were 15 of once deadly teeth of the prehistoric shark.

Fossils and other teeth of a now extinct Great White shark and other large ocean creatures were also spotted in the same submarine location of the isle of Graciosa.

Spanish research vessel

Everything was encountered and retrieved by the research vessel Angeles AlvariƱo of the IEO (Spanish Institute of Oceanography)

Unfortunately, this vertebrate predator which only possessed cartilage lacked proper bones. The latter would have fossilized better for more exact present references.

The discovery may let us learn more about the surroundings of the Canary Islands which came into being between 25 million and 5 million years ago.

Why did the Carcharodom Megalodon disappear?

The Megalodon monster shark became extinct because of ice ages during the Pleistocene era which made the oceans too cold for this giant shark which by the way, had a body mass of 100 tons.

From prehistoric shark back to whale watching where pilot whales together with dolphins must be protected at all cost.





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