How big is a mega shark? Really huge, according to reports in ScienceDaily 3 September 2020, SciTech Daily 4 September 2020 and Scientific Reports, 3 September 2020; doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-71387-y.
Because sharks have a skeleton made of cartilage, rather than bone, fossils of whole sharks are very rare, so it is difficult to estimate their exact size and body proportions. However, there are many fossil shark teeth, and these are used to estimate the size of fossil sharks by comparing them with the teeth of living sharks. Scientists had estimated the fossil giant shark named Otodus megalodon (commonly referred to as Megalodon) was between 15 and 18 metres (49-59ft) long. For comparison, living Great White sharks grow up to 6 metres (20ft) long. Reconstructions of Megalodon have been made based on body proportions of the living Great Whites.
Researchers at University of Bristol and Swansea University studied growth patterns of other living sharks, including the Mako shark, Salmon shark and Porbeagle shark, as well the Great White to estimate the body proportions of Megalodon. The research team reported “Our results suggest that a 16m O. megalodon likely had a head ~ 4.65m long, a dorsal fin ~ 1.62m tall and a tail ~ 3.85m high”. They also calculated that its pectoral (front) fins were 3 metres (10ft) long and it was 8 metres (26.5ft) from dorsal fin to the end of its tail and concluded that their “analyses further suggest that its dorsal and caudal fins were adapted for swift predatory locomotion and long-swimming periods”.
Links: ScienceDaily, SciTech Daily
Editorial Comment: Megalodon teeth have been known for hundreds of years, and until recently were given the scientific name Carcharodon megalodon, putting them in the same genus as Great White sharks, whose scientific name is Carcharodon carcharias. Now some wanting evolutionist fame for authoring a new species and genus, have organised to arbitrarily put Megalodon in a different genus of sharks. Their reasons are not because of any new evidence from Megalodon fossils, but are totally evolutionist. Also, you need to know this change is hotly disputed by many shark experts. Therefore, it is and was always appropriate to use the body proportions of Great White sharks as guidelines for Megalodon.
This study is also a reminder there once was a world of giants, both on land and in the seas. Fish (sharks included) are able to grow throughout their lives, so if they are well fed and free of disease they can grow to very large sizes if they live long enough. In the original very good world people lived long lifespans, so animals, including fish, probably did as well. Like other animals, large sharks were originally meant to be gentle giants that ate plants rather than predators. Their mega ripping teeth were well suited to tearing apart huge and nutritious Giant Kelp. It was only after sin came into the world that it became corrupt and filled with violence.
There would have been plenty of nutritious plant food for large sea creatures to eat in the original very good world, but after Noah’s Flood the environment degenerated and animals made do with whatever they could find to eat, and used whatever built-in features they had to find it. The degenerating environment also meant animals could no longer grow as large. The remains of giant animals everywhere are a tragic reminder that the world is going downhill, not evolving upwards.
Creation Research News 16 September 2020
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