Could Megalodon Still Live In The Deep?

First off, nobody has direct evidence to suggest that they do still exist. No, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence- we know this. It’s very difficult to prove something doesn’t exist, but equally that doesn’t mean that megalodons are still lurking around somewhere.

From IFLScience: 

The megalodon shark (C. megalodon) is widely regarded as both the largest shark to have ever lived on Earth and one of the largest vertebrate predators in history. Megalodons roamed the seas from around 28 million years ago until ~1.6 million years ago, when they were wiped out during the Pleistocene extinction.

Megalodons were, as we know, freaking huge. Some of the teeth discovered from this whopping great predator have been over 17 centimeters (7 inches) in total height, but the majority are between 3 and 5 inches (still, massive). Reconstructions using jaws and other fossilized remains suggest that megalodons probably reached maximum lengths of up to 54 feet (16.5 meters), around 3 times larger than great whites (C. carcharias). They even make T-rex’s look like pansies in comparison.

Image credit: Matt Martyniuk, via Wikimedia Commons

The widespread distribution of megalodon fossils, in particular teeth, suggests that it was a cosmopolitan species that inhabited a wide range of marine environments, preferring warm and temperate shallower waters. They were at the top of the food chain and would have eaten large prey such as cetaceans (dolphins and whales).

As mentioned, megalodons went extinct an estimated 1.6 million years ago. But some people are not satisfied with this and are convinced that they might still exist. Unfortunately, some documentaries (that used fake footage) have many people completely convinced that they're still hiding in the ocean. So let’s go through the common arguments and hopefully we can reach a sensible conclusion.

First off, nobody has direct evidence to suggest that they do still exist. No, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence- we know this. It’s very difficult to prove something doesn’t exist, but equally that doesn’t mean that megalodons are still lurking around somewhere.

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