The Carcharocles megalodon was an ancient shark that lived during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (20 to 2 million years ago) and then became extinct.  It was the largest, most ferocious shark predator that has ever existed and lived at the very pinnacle of the food chain.  Many paleontologists think that the reason that it died out was due to the cold weather.

During the Pliocene Epoch (4 million years ago), the last of the Great Ice Ages began.  The ocean waters cooled and the cold-blooded C. megalodon had to move south to warmer water.  The warm-blooded whales and porpoises which were the main food source of the megalodon adapted to the cold water.  Some scientists believe that this animal had to eat over 1.25 tons of food each day, about the weight of a present day, adult, female Great White Shark.  The megalodon could not sustain it's massive bulk on the smaller, faster schools of fish and became extinct.

The megalodon roamed every ocean of the world.  It's fossil teeth are found in Europe, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, North America, and South America.

Classification:
Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata,
Class - Chondrichthyes,
Subclass - Elasmobranchii,
Order - Lamniformes,
Family - Otodontidae,
Genus - Carcharocles,
Species - megalodon.

These magnificent animals lived during the:
Phanerozoic Eon,
Cenozoic Era,
Tertiary Period,
Neogene Sub-period,
Miocene through Pliocene Epochs
(20 to 2 million years ago).

This animal was the uncle of the Great White Shark (But 3 times longer and 20 times heavier).  Many paleontologists believe that the CarcharoCLES megalodon descended from the Cretolamna appendiculata through Otodus obliquus and the Giant White sharks (Carcharocles) and that the CarcharoDON carcharias (Great White Shark) descended from Cretolamna through the Isurus (Mako) line of sharks.  Some scientists still believe that the CarcharoDON megalodon was the father of the CarcharoDON carcharias (Great White Shark.)

The largest megalodon was thought to be 40 to 65 feet long, weighing up to 65 tons.  This is equivalent to 7 or 8 T. rex dinosaurs.  This fish was as large as a greyhound bus and could easily swallow a bass boat.  The dorsal fin was taller than most men (6 feet) and the pectoral fins were 8 feet long.  The massive tail from tip to tip was over 20 feet - about the height of a 2 story building.

She had 5 rows of teeth in the upper jaw containing 28 teeth in each row.  
5 rows of teeth in the lower jaw containing 30 teeth in each row.
Total of 290 teeth.
Largest animal carried over 100 lbs. of teeth in it's mouth.

If a tooth in the front row became damaged or broken during feeding, it fell out and was immediately replaced by the one in the next row behind it.  Some modern sharks go through 20,000 teeth during their lifetime.  This is one of the reasons why shark teeth are the most commonly found fossil.

One reconstructed megalodon jaw measures 9.5 ft. high and 11 ft. wide.

Some studies have shown that an adult megalodon could exert pressures exceeding 42,000 lbs/sq. inch with its jaws.  This is 280 times as hard as a human's bite (150 lbs/sq. inch.) and we do not have sharp pointed, serrated teeth.

The largest fossil megalodon tooth ever found (so far) was 7 5/8 inches.  7 inch teeth sell for over $10,000.  Only about 15 have ever been found and 13 of these had to be restored to bring them back to over 7 inches.  Only two "natural" 7 inch teeth have ever been found.  The animal had cartilage instead of bone which rotted away and did not fossilize.  The teeth are the only thing that remains of this magnificent animal.