Where the facts come from
Every factual claim on this site links to its source. This is the full list.
How we checked
Each fact was written in our own words alongside its source. Our build script stores the text of every source and, for each fact, checks that the key words and figures really appear in it. 125 of 125 checks passed when this site was last built (13 November 2026). Where we couldn’t find a named source saying something, we left it out. Where good sources disagree, we say so and give both.
Where sources differ
- When it lived. 23 to 3.6 million years ago (NHM, Smithsonian Ocean); Britannica gives 23.03 to 2.58 million years ago; the NHM and Smithsonian Ocean also mention 2.6 million years ago; a 2019 study puts the end at about 3.6 million years ago, with a median of 3.51.
- Length. 15 to 18 m from older tooth estimates (NHM); about 18 m, or 60 feet, for the largest (Smithsonian Ocean); an average of 13 to 14 m for adults (Britannica); possibly up to 24.3 m (2025 study, quoted by the NHM and Britannica).
- Weight. Perhaps up to 50 tons (Smithsonian Ocean), 30 to more than 65 tonnes (Britannica), or about 94 tonnes for a 24.3 m shark (2025 study).
- The biggest tooth. Almost 18 cm (NHM), 17.8 cm (Britannica), or some over 18 cm tall (Smithsonian Ocean).
- Size at birth. 3.6 to 3.9 m (2025 study), up to 3.9 m (NHM), or at least 2 m (Britannica).
- Bite. 108,514 to 182,201 newtons (NHM), or about 40,000 pounds of force (Smithsonian Ocean).
- Relatives. A different lineage from the great white (NHM), closer to an ancestor of the makos (Smithsonian Ocean), or still debated (Britannica).
- Body shape. Slimmer, perhaps like a lemon shark (NHM, 2025 study), or bulky and great-white-like (Britannica).
- Nurseries. Described in Panama in 2010 and listed by Smithsonian Ocean; questioned by studies in 2022 and 2025.
All sources (10)
- Natural History Museum: Megalodon, the truth about the largest shark that ever lived (45 facts)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Megalodon (22 facts)
- Smithsonian Ocean: The Megalodon (22 facts)
- Natural History Museum: Is megalodon still alive? (12 facts)
- Shimada and 28 others (2025), Reassessment of the possible size, form, weight, cruising speed and growth parameters of Otodus megalodon, Palaeontologia Electronica 28(1):a12 (PDF) (9 facts)
- Natural History Museum news: Megalodon sharks grew biggest in colder waters (7 March 2022) (6 facts)
- Boessenecker and others (2019), The Early Pliocene extinction of the mega-toothed shark Otodus megalodon, PeerJ 7:e6088 (4 facts)
- Cooper and others (2020), Body dimensions of the extinct giant shark Otodus megalodon: a 2D reconstruction, Scientific Reports 10:14596 (2 facts)
- Pimiento and others (2010), Ancient nursery area for the extinct giant shark megalodon from the Miocene of Panama, PLoS ONE 5(5):e10552 (2 facts)
- McCormack and others (2022), Trophic position of Otodus megalodon and great white sharks through time revealed by zinc isotopes, Nature Communications 13:2980 (1 fact)