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The megalodon shark was so big and powerful it could devour an orca in a few bites, and was the fastest cruising shark to ever swim the oceans, a new study shows. The finds were revealed thanks to a new 3D model of the long-extinct shark, based on data collected from fossilized teeth and vertebrae, which is giving scientists the best look yet at the size, speed and diet of the infamous "superpredator."

The megalodon (Otodus megalodon) was the largest shark to ever swim through Earth's oceans. It first emerged around 23 million years ago and went extinct about 2.6 million years ago, likely due to the emergence of great white sharks. Like modern sharks, megalodon had a cartilaginous skeleton, which does not easily fossilize, so most of what we know about the ancient leviathan comes from its fossilized teeth, which are around 6 inches (15 centimeters) long, and a few well-preserved vertebrae. As a result, scientists actually know very little about this apex predator. In the new study, researchers combined measurements from an exceptionally well-preserved vertebral column uncovered in Belgium and a set of teeth found in the U.S. to create a rough blueprint of the megalodon's skeleton. The team then used body scans of a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) to fill in the gaps and estimate the amount of soft tissue that would have surrounded megalodon's bones. The scientists then combined these data to create a digitally reconstructed 3D megalodon that researchers could use to peer into the secret lives of the giant beast.

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Based on the model, "we estimate that an adult O. megalodon could cruise at faster absolute speeds than any shark species today and fully consume prey the size of modern apex predators," the researchers wrote in the new study, published Aug. 17 in the journal Science Advances(opens in new tab). "Our results suggest that O. megalodon played an important ecological role as a transoceanic superpredator." 

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