The megalodon was the largest shark of all time. Its scientific name is Carcharocles megalodon. It lived from the late Oligocene to early Pleistocene epochs, 15 to 2.6 million years ago (mya).

This giant of a shark was thought to be a huge version of the current great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias. Megalodon had teeth, which are among the largest ever found, over 7 inches (18 cm) long. Nicolaus Steno was the first to recognize the teeth as those of a giant shark. Paleontologists calculate that the shark was up to 52–56 feet (16–17 m) long, and weighed up to 48-49 metric tons.[1]

The skeleton of a Megalodon was made of cartilage, but it had calcium to strengthen it. Megalodon teeth, however were bone and can be found in all oceans. Other remains found are vertebrae.

Fossil records of C. megalodon indicate that it  occurred in subtropical to temperate latitudes.[2] Before the formation of the Isthmus of Panama, the seas were relatively warmer.[3] This would have made it possible for the species to live in all the oceans of the world.

C. megalodon lived in many marine environments (i.e. continental shelf waters,[4] coastal upwelling,[4] swampy coastal lagoons,[4] sandy littorals,[4] and offshore deep water environments),[5] and moved from place to place.[4] Adult C. megalodon were not abundant in shallow water environments,[4] and mostly lurked offshore. C. megalodon may have moved between coastal and oceanic waters, at different stages in its life.

Megalodon hunted large and medium-sized whales, attacking the bony areas, such as chest, fins, or tail. This would stop the whale, or it could kill quickly with a fatal bite to the chest region. The Megalodon bite is considered one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom’s history.

Its great size,[6] high-speed swimming capability,[7] and powerful jaws coupled with formidable killing apparatus,[2][6] made it an apex predator eating a range of fauna.

Fossil evidence is that C. megalodon preyed on cetaceans (i.e., dolphins,[2] small whales,[4][8] and Odobenocetops,[9] and large whales,[10] (including sperm whales,[5][11] bowhead whales,[12] and rorquals[10][13] pinnipeds,[14] porpoises,[5] sirenians,[4][15] and giant sea turtles.[4]

Marine mammals were regular prey targets for C. megalodon. Many whale bones have been found with clear signs of large bite marks (deep gashes) made by teeth that match those of C. megalodon,[2][8] and various excavations have revealed C. megalodon teeth lying close to the chewed remains of whales,[2] and sometimes in direct association with them. Fossil evidence of interactions between C. megalodon and pinnipeds also exist. In one interesting observation, a 127 millimetres (5.0 in) C.  megalodon tooth was found lying very close to a bitten earbone of a sea lion.[14]

It was thought that the Carcharocles megalodon was a larger version of the Carcharodon carcarias. Megalodon had a much larger tail than the Carcharodon carcarias. However, the Carcharodon carcarias teeth was thinner than the Carcharocoles megalodon. It is confirmed that Carcharocoles megalodon is in a family called the Otodontidae. This means that the Carcharocoles megalodon and the Carcharodon caracarias were not related and Carcharodon megalodon was more in common with the Otodontidae than Lamnidae.

You might think that Carcharocles megalodon had a weaker bite than the Tyrannosaurus rex. However, scientists calculated Carcharocles megalodon has a bite force to be up to 24,000 to 40,000 pounds of pressure and T. rex's bite is 11,100 pounds meaning that Carcharocles megalodon has the strongest bite.