Scientists say the extinct super predator megalodon was big enough to eat orcas

A research team led by Jack Cooper, a paleobiologist at Swansea University, set out to use 3D modeling from a rare and well-preserved megalodon spine to extrapolate information about the shark’s movement and behaviour. Their research was published in science progress Wednesday.

The researchers used a megalodon spine from Belgium, a tooth from the United States, and cranial cartilage – the cartilaginous equivalent of a skull – from a great white shark to build a three-dimensional skeleton. Then they used a full-body scan of a great white shark to estimate how the meat would sit on the megalodon’s skeleton.

With a full 3D rendering, they came up with estimates of the size and mass of the entire shark’s body. By comparing the numbers to the size of modern sharks, they estimated the sharks’ swimming speed, stomach value, calorie needs, and prey encounter rates.

The megalodon they crafted was about 16 meters, or 52 feet, tall. It weighed about 61,560 kilograms, or 135,717 pounds, according to their estimates.

They estimated that megalodon could devour orca-sized prey — which can be up to 26 feet long and weigh more than 8,000 pounds — in just five bites.

According to the researchers, prey the size of a modern humpback whale was too big for megalodon to eat entirely. Eating large prey may have given megalodon a competitive advantage over other predators. Eating large portions at a time would also have allowed them to travel long distances without eating again, like modern great white sharks.

An adult megalodon should have eaten 98,175 calories per day, which is 20 times more than an adult great white shark. They were able to meet their energetic needs by eating about 31.9 kg of shark muscle, the researchers estimated.

The megalodon was also faster than any shark alive, with a theoretical average cruising speed of about 3.1 miles per hour. This speed would have allowed her to take on more prey, helping her meet her massive calorie requirements.

Overall, the data from the 3D model paints a picture of a “super predator across the ocean,” the researchers say.