Carcharodon megalodon was an ancient shark, currently known only from its fossilized teeth; startlingly similar to those of Carcharodon carcharias, the Great White Shark of modern seas. Extrapolating from the size of the teeth, Megalodon may well have reached from 20 to 30 meters in length! Whereas the modern Whale Shark may approach that size, it is fortunately a harmless plankton feeder; Megalodon was obviously a more dangerous carnivore, feeding on more substantial prey!
It would seem that Megalodon is extinct, although there was a report from the early 1900s of a sighting of a shark 'as long as the dock' - a dock which was 100' long! Does Megalodon still lurk in the abyss? Probably not, although no one can say for certain - another large and previously unknown shark (known as 'Megamouth' for its disproportionately large jaws - probably no relation to Megalodon, in spite of the similar name) was recently discovered in the depths of the ocean.
Megalodon may be millions of years old - but this image was truly decades in the making! I first created it in pen and ink, in a Grade 10 art class in magic realism. At the time, I had just been reading about Megalodon in a science book. Recently, I realized it was time to bring the image into the new millenium, using the toys I now have at my disposal!
As an aside, I have heard that there will be a horror movie released later this year featuring Megalodon; and that there was also a recent Discovery Channel special on the beastie. Since I missed the special, I don't know whether any of the above information can be updated; but this is clearly the year for Megalodon! An update of my old image would certainly appear to be timely...
Image Updated 2001.02 Reworked 'water' effect to better show undersea setting, improved shark, texture.
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