| Megalodon Sharks, could they still exist?
I'm reading a series of fiction books called MEG, short for Megalodon. A Megalodon shark is an ancestor of the great white shark, an exact look-a-like in appearance. However, the Megalodon grew to 80 feet long, and preyed on early baleen whales, whereas todays great white is only 25 feet long and preys on smaller seals and fish. A major comparison to size regards its teeth. Adult Great white teeth are anywhere from 2-3 inches long. Adult Meg teeth were anywhere from 5 - 9 inches long.
The book suggests that most Megalodon sharks were killed off during the ice age, when the oceans cooled dramatically. However, the books also suggests that they could still be thriving in the Pacific Ocean at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, where superheated water coming from the earth's inner core keeps the water warm enough for Megalodon to survive. It also suggests that these large sharks prey upon deep diving sperm whales and other large benthic creatures. I like to think that this dinosaur could still be alive in only the deepest parts of the ocean. Here's my argument.
1. The Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) was thought to be extinct for more than 60 million years until a live specimen was captured in 1938. We now know that there is a small but definitely surviving population of these ancient fish in very deep waters off eastern Africa and another was recently discovered off Indonesia. It could be possible that Megalodon feed on the larger benthic species, or, as stated in the books, due to it's new suggested sensitivity to light, feeds at night on resting whales.
2. Less than 5% of the deep-sea has been explored, and even less than that sampled biologically. Yet we know that sharks live at least as deep as 12,000 feet and Sperm Whales are believed to dive to 10,000 feet in search of squid. If there's enough food down there for 60-foot whales, there is probably enough to support Megalodon.
3. New marine creatures are still being discovered, some of them quite large like the 15-foot Megamouth Shark discovered in 1976.
What do you think? Could the Great White's massive cousin still inhabit our oceans? | 
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