Considered the largest shark ever documented and one of the largest fish on record, The Megalodon was a prehistoric shark that weighed more than 100 pounds. Learn more interesting facts about this impressive creature on this list of Megalodon Facts.

1. Megalodon is a term derived from ancient Greek terms ‘μέγας’ which means Megas or Big.

2. The Megalodon was a prehistoric shark.

3. Megalodon was lived in the Cenozoic Era.

4. Megalodon is considered to be the most powerful predator to have ever lived on the planet.

5. Megalodon reached the maximum length of 59 feet.

6. Megalodon weighed up to 100 tons.

7. The Megalodon’s teeth could reach sizes over 7 inches.

8. Megalodon grew up to 60 feet long.

9. Megalodon’s closest living relative is the great white shark.

10. The Scientific name of Megalodon is Carcharocles Megalodon.

11. Megalodon’s teeth are larger than any other known shark species.

12. Megalodon sharks fed on almost anything that moved in the sea.

13. Megalodon pups born with a birth length of up to 13 Feet.

14. Nicolaus Steno was the first to recognize the teeth of a Megalodon as those of a giant shark.

15. The skeleton of a Megalodon was made of cartilage.

16. Megalodon hunted large and medium-sized whales, attacking the bony areas, such as the chest or the fins.

17. Megalodon had high-speed swimming capability.

18. Adult megalodon was not abundant in shallow water environments, and mostly inhabited offshore areas.

19. The average estimated adult size for Megalodon is around fifty feet long.

20. Megalodon teeth also well known from the deserts of Chili, the Western Sahara Desert, Cuba, and many other places worldwide.

21. The estimated lifespan of the Megalodon was around 20 – 40 years.

22. Megalodon layed thousands of eggs at once.

23. Megalodon male protected all the eggs.

24. Megalodon’s great size, high-speed swimming capability, and powerful jaws, coupled with an impressive feeding apparatus, made it an apex predator capable of consuming a broad spectrum of animals.

25. A Megalodon was mostly found in a warm sea.

26. Megalodon had 46 front row teeth, 24 in the upper jaw and 22 in the lower.

27. The Megalodon’s bite force could have crushed a small car.

28. Many researchers believe that climatic changes were the main cause for the extinction of the Megalodon shark.

29. Megalodon was an ovoviviparous specie.

30. The Megalodon bite was more powerful than that of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

31. The most recent known fossils of a Megalodon are roughly 8 million years old.

32. Megalodon, like contemporaneous sharks, made use of nursery areas to birth their young in, with large amounts of food and protection from predators.

33. Megalodon were mostly found in locations with a mean temperature ranging from 54 to 81 °F with a total range of 34 to 91 °F.

34. The Megalodon had a worldwide distribution in warmer waters so it’s teeth are found all over the world.

35. Recent research and analysis of fossils show that the Megalodon and the Great White are NOT closely related. The Great White shark is closely related to an ancient shark Isurus hastalis, the “broad tooth mako”, rather than to Megalodon.