Could Megalodon Sharks Still Live In the Ocean?

[Music] so did Megalodon definitely go extinct cut I sure hope so the ocean is vast and filled with terrifying looking creatures but the prehistoric Megalodon would put him all this shame for over ten million years the toothy megladon ruled the world's waters and we're thanking our lucky stars it doesn't exist at a while theories out there argue that these bad boys of the ocean are still around there's no doubt that they're long gone and extinct still don't believe it just get ready for a big dose of scientific evidence but first don't forget to click on the subscribe button and turn on notifications to join us on the Brightside [Applause] meet the megladon the largest shark ever documented in earth's history the largest Megalodon tooth ever found which measures at about 7 inches long is almost three times larger than the teeth you'll find in the great white sharks of today the Megalodon sported 276 of these giant and sharply serrated teeth that could rip the flesh of dolphins whales and possibly even other sharks according to the Natural History Museum in London scared yet well I am but don't go running for the hills just yet Megalodon has long been extinct despite blockbuster hit movies like 2018 the Meg and conspiracy theories running rampant on the Internet these prehistoric sea beasts no longer exist yep rest assured that Megalodon did in fact go extinct 2.6 million years ago and the proof is in the scientific pudding my favorite flavor about 2.6 million years ago mark the beginning of the era known as the Pleistocene at the beginning of this era temperatures began to cool and glacier started to form all over if you're thinking this was the time of the ice ages you'd be right oh my friend due to the planets falling temperatures things started changing in the earth oceans for one thing whale started migrating to find more food lending them closer to the poles being one of the megalodons primary meal to goes it became harder in harder for the humongous predator to find whales to munch on perhaps this was the reason for megalodons extinction well that's what scientists thought up until 2016 when dr. Catalina Pia Mentos and her team of researchers came onto the scene and said that this probably wasn't the case at all while there's no doubt that the Megalodon definitely went extinct it probably wasn't because they couldn't keep up with whales in the cooler temperatures and that's because Megalodon fossils have actually been found in waters as cold as 33 degrees Fahrenheit which means that these giant sharks weren't afraid of ice cold temperatures sure they typically preferred a much cozier 53 to 80 degrees setting but Pia mentos studies showed that they could totally bare ice waters this isn't all that hard to believe since today sharks are actually mezzo thermic meaning they're able to keep their body temperature slightly warmer even when surrounding waters are colder than they'd like [Music] okay so if the whales new migration patterns weren't what killed the Megalodon species then what did like with so many things the answer is competition that's right even though the Megalodon were ferocious and scary they were actually other flesh-eating predators sharing the ocean that liked to eat a lot of the same things that these giant sharks did talk about a dog-eat-dog world or rather a shark eat sure about sure never mind you get the point one of the megalodons biggest competitors in the deep blue during the mid Miocene era was the now extinct genus of sperm whale known as the Livia and Mel villa these prehistoric sperm whales had shorter jaws than today's sperm whales and they were able to chomp down on sharks and even other whales yeah and these weren't the only carnivorous whales that roamed the ocean waters during this era by the end of the Maya scene a new shark into the picture and changed everything it was the Carcharodontosaurus new kid on the block wasn't afraid to go head-to-head with a mighty Megalodon when it came to hunting for prey how do scientists know this well teeth marks of the Carcharodontosaurus on liked to chew as time move forward into the Pliocene era whales were starting to disappear while there were about 60 different whale species in the previous Miocene age only 40 remain by the time of the Pliocene many of these whales had evolved and sported baleen instead of teeth these bristle looking things in the whale's mouth serve as filtration system that helps them catch more krill their favorite food the krill they'd feed on a primarily microscopic algae known as diatoms but around 3 million years ago the many different kinds of diatoms started to diminish leaving only a few different types well it's still not known why this happened it could have been due to a shift in ocean water circulation because of this lack of diatoms there weren't as many krill swimming around which in turn left whales with empty bellies as these whales slowly disappeared so did the Megalodon circle of life right at this time the Megalodon had to put their game faces on and fight even harder against the great white sharks who were smaller and faster that'd be like racing a Ford Escape with a Porsche Carrera GT catch my drift with these great white sharks being more agile and smaller they required less food than the Megalodon and that bright siders is why 2.6 million years ago the very last Megalodon roamed the oceans as the scariest shark around giant blood hungry predator or not there's always something a little sad about species dying out don't you think [Music] but what if the McClendon had survived the whale food shortage and continued to thrive with today's oceans look different well you'd be way less likely to go swimming in the ocean am i right well jokes aside today's marine life would be a little different if the Megalodon were still around for one thing we may not have the massive whale species we've come to know like the blue whale these guys can measure up to 82 feet making them the biggest animal we've ever seen on this earth they managed to grow to such a hefty size thanks to the fact that over a couple million years these bigger whales weren't hunted by the oceans new smaller predators the great white shark and the Orca without being on someone's dinner plate larger species of whales continue to grow and thrive becoming the massive animals they are today while today's great white sharks aren't even close to being as big as the Megalodon they seem to be following in its fin steps the great white grows about 3 feet larger than its ancestors that swam alongside the Megalodon during the Pliocene on top of that they seem to grow faster when they're younger similar to how the Megalodon dead does this mean that the great white has the potential to become as large and fierce as the Megalodon in the future well with whales growing as big as they are today and the great white thriving inner oceans the next Megalodon could be right around the corner well considering that it took millions of years for the Megalodon to evolve and grow as big as they were in their prime that's gonna be one long and distant corner so there you have it scientific proof that the Megalodon no longer exists sorry to burst your bubble if you were hoping otherwise it looks like the only Megalodon you'll be seeing in the near future will be on screen so what other scary prehistoric creatures are you glad don't exist today let us know down in the comments remember to give this video a like share it with your friends and click that subscribe button [Music] you

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 326,822

Rating: 4.8006577 out of 5

Keywords: megalodon, megalodon shark, huge sharks, the most dangerous animals, prehistoric animals, Earth facts, history of Earth, what if megalodon sharks were still here, blue whales, great white shark, Livyatan Melvillei, sperm whale, Carcharodon Hubbelli, sea creatures, bizarre animals, terrifying creatures, Pliocene, Megalodon tooth, dangerous sharks, shark attack, mariana trench, sea monsters

Id: 8cvFN1TuPsY

Length: 10min 2sec (602 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 24 2019