In 1954, the Australian ship "Rachelle Cohen" embarked for a major overhaul in one of the docks in Adelaide. The repair began with General Cleaning. They began to clean the bottom of the ship from shells, and found 17 huge teeth stuck in the skin. Each is 8 by 10 cm.
Throughout the history of the earth's existence, only one "Rybka" could boast of such teeth - the megalodon. One problem: did it become extinct 1.5 million years ago or not?
On the face are terrible, the same inside.
For 26.5 million years, a giant bloodthirsty shark known as Carcharodon Megalodon reigned in the world's oceans. Nature has never created anything worse. According to scientists, the length of the megalodon reached 20 to 30 meters! And weighed from 50 to 100 tons. His favorite food was sperm whales and baleen whales, which he nibbled, as they say, at once.
Can you imagine the size of the mouth of this monstrous fish, if a 10-meter whale was an ordinary hunting object for it? These superpredators were at the top of the food chain. And, so to speak, they kept all aquatic inhabitants at bay.
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The huge teeth that are found throughout the ocean, indicating an incredibly wide distribution of megalodons, are triangular in shape and resemble shark. The only difference is in scale. The tooth of the largest - a great white shark - does not exceed 6 cm. While in the megalodon the most modest "Fang" reaches 10 cm, but the usual size for them is 17-18 cm.
Actually, according to these teeth, scientists were able to approximately recreate the appearance and size of the predator, for the largest individuals were female - "Megalodonikha". First, the jaw was reconstructed, and then the "Figure", taking into account the fact that the closest relative of the megalodons is the great white shark. It turned out a kind of "Big White", only more "wide-boned", and besides, carried away by steroids: a frightening-looking skeleton now flaunts in the Maritime Museum of Maryland (USA.
Walking by and not shuddering with horror is simply impossible. A broad skull, massive jaws and a short, blunt snout - an unattractive appearance. As ichthyologists joke, "Megalodon was a Pig on the Face." Next to this giant, a person feels like just a grain of sand. And from looking at a 2-meter jaw with 5 rows of teeth, it makes you shiver. Inevitably, you are glad that these monsters are no longer in the ocean.
But surely not? This is just a big question
From a geological point of view, animals are considered extinct if no signs of their presence are found for more than 400,000 years. However, let's not forget about the Australian ship "Rachel Cohen": analyzes have shown that the teeth found in the bottom of the ship really belonged to the megalodon. Okay, let's say it was a hoax. But what about the finds of paleontologists and ichthyologists?
The last teeth of megalodons, discovered in the vicinity of Tahiti and in our Baltic Sea, were dated almost as "Youth" - they were given 11 thousand years. They didn't even have time to petrify properly! Feel the difference: 1.5 million - and 11 thousand years! Don't forget to take into account the fact that only 10% of the world's oceans have been studied. So it may be that somewhere out there - in the depths - these "Charming Fish" are also found.
Would you say that such giant sharks could not go unnoticed? Leave your pride. The deep-sea shark, known as the bigmouth, was discovered by humanity only in 1976. And then quite by accident: one individual was stuck in the anchor chain of a research vessel in the waters near the island of oahu (Hawaii. 36 years have passed since then, but during all this time the big-mouthed shark was seen only 25 times - and even then only in the form of corpses on coast.
The goblin shark, also known as the goblin, discovered its presence in the world's oceans in 1897. And before that it was considered long ago and hopelessly extinct.
And people first "tracked" the whale shark in 1828, until then remained in the happy ignorance of its existence.
In addition, no one has scanned the world's oceans. And the megalodon will never come close to the coast - its impressive size will not allow it. So this shark leads a deep-sea lifestyle. How deep is it? Good question. Sperm whales, for example, the largest predatory animals known to science, are able to dive to a depth of 3 kilometers and feel great there: they do not care about water pressure. True, they have to rise to the surface - for a breath of air. Megalodons do not need it: they are supplied with oxygen by the gills. So it's early, early to cross them off the list of the living!
Meeting with the "Beautiful"
A weighty argument in favor of the "Vitality" of the megalodons is given in his book "Sharks and rays of the seas of Australia" (1963) by the famous Australian ichthyologist - David George Stead.
In 1918, he worked in the public service and was responsible for the commercial fishing in the southern waters of Australia. And so he was hastily summoned from the port of Stevenson: local fishermen refuse to go out to sea, frightened to death by some huge fish - a specialist consultation is needed. Stead hastened to appear. After questioning the fishermen, he found out the following.
Following a routine once and for all, the lobster fishers set out early in the morning for the traps they had set up the day before. We arrived at the place - to the island of bruton. Divers went under water to attach traps to motor boats. The rest of the team calmly awaited their return. However, the divers immediately got up. In panic, they climbed the decks, shouting in different voices: “Shark! Giant Shark! Leave here immediately! Indeed, in the water surface, the fishermen made out the outlines of a huge, terrible fish. Without wasting a second, they hastened to leave the terrible place. Having come to their senses with horror, the divers said that, having descended to the bottom, they saw an incredibly large ash-white shark. It devoured the lobster traps set up and was not stopped by either anchor chains or cables.
According to the stories of the fishermen, it turned out that the shark reached 35 meters in length. And her head was the size of the roof of a boat shed.
The ichthyologist did not immediately believe the fishermen: common sense told him that the megalodon (and judging by the size of the shark, it could only be he) could not resurrect and appear in Australian waters. On the other hand, the stead realized: there is no reason for fishermen to lie and shy away from work, because their earnings depend on the catch. Plus, it took some imagination to come up with a story like this. The fishermen were experienced sailors, but not dreamers.
So, as a scientist, Stead suffered a complete fiasco: he could neither refute nor confirm the words of lobster catchers. For himself, the ichthyologist concluded: the fact that megalodons still live in the world's oceans cannot be ruled out. And you know, we tend to agree with him. Who knows what it hides - this deep blue sea?