Carcharocles megalodon

The megalodon or megalodonCarcharocles megalodon; of the gr. μέγας megas 'big', root mega-, and ὀδούς odoús 'tooth') is an extinct species of shark that lived between approximately 19.8 and 3.6 million years, from the beginning of the Miocene to the end of the Pliocene. It was previously thought to be a member of the family Lamnidae and a close relative of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). However, there is currently an almost unanimous consensus that it belongs to the genus Otodus, of the extinct family Otodontidae, which separated from the ancestry of the great white shark during the early Cretaceous and which should therefore be called Otodus megalodon.​

The megalodon is the largest shark that has ever existed. Most estimates of megalodon size are extrapolated from the teeth; It can measure 18 meters in length and weigh 80 tons. Fossil remains indicate that this giant shark had a cosmopolitan distribution, but preferred warmer waters.

Causes of the extinction of megalodon:

• ​ oceanic cooling associated with the onset of ice ages.
• decrease in sea levels.
• loss of suitable breeding areas.
• loss of their prey (whales) when migrating to colder waters.
• competition for food against the modern great white shark.