Megalodon Waterhouse Hawkins

$250.00

Megalodon or Otodus megalodon, meaning “big tooth”, is an extinct species of shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (mya), during the Early Miocene to the Pliocene.

Description

Megalodon Waterhouse Hawkins model is museum quality polyurethane resin cast that measures 21 inches. Megalodon Waterhouse Hawkins Made in USA.

Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (8 February 1807 – 27 January 1894) was an English sculptor and natural history artist renowned for his work on the life-size models of dinosaurs in the Crystal Palace Park in south London.

The dinosaur models, accurately made using the latest scientific knowledge, created a sensation at the time.

Megalodon or Otodus megalodon, meaning “big tooth”, is an extinct species of shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (mya), during the Early Miocene to the Pliocene.

It was formerly thought to be a member of the family Lamnidae and a close relative of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). However, Megalodon or Otodus megalodon it is now classified into the extinct family Otodontidae, which diverged from the great white shark during the Early Cretaceous.

Its genus placement is still debated, authors placing it in either Carcharocles, Megaselachus, Otodus, or Procarcharodon. This is because transitional fossils have been found showing that Megalodon or Otodus megalodon is the final chronospecies of a lineage of giant sharks originally of the genus Otodus which evolved during the Paleocene.

While Megalodon or Otodus megalodon is regarded as one of the largest and most powerful predators to have ever lived, megalodon is known from fragmentary remains, and its appearance and maximum size are uncertain.

Scientists differ on whether it would have more closely resembled a stockier version of the great white shark, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) or the sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus).

Most estimates of Megalodon or Otodus megalodon size extrapolate from teeth, with maximum length estimates up to 47 to 52 ft. and average length estimates 34 ft.

Estimates suggest their large jaws could exert a bite force of up to 108,500 to 182,200 newtons or 24,400 to 41,000 lb. Their teeth were thick and robust, built for grabbing prey and breaking bone.

Megalodon or Otodus megalodon probably had a major impact on the structure of marine communities. The fossil record indicates that it had a cosmopolitan distribution.

It probably targeted large prey, such as whales, seals and sea turtles. Juveniles inhabited warm coastal waters and fed on fish and small whales.

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Additional information

Weight 3 lbs
Megalodon Facts

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Lamniformes
Family: †Otodontidae
Genus: †Otodus
Species: †O. megalodon
Binomial name: †Otodus megalodon