megalodon, Extinct shark (Carcharocles megalodon) of the family Otodontidae which is considered to be the largest shark, as well as the largest fish (and possibly the largest marine predator), that ever lived. Fossil teeth and vertebrae attributed to megalodon have been found in rocks dating from the early Miocene Epoch to the end of the Pliocene Epoch (about 23 million to 2.6 million years ago). It was a bulky torpedo-shaped fish with a conical snout, large pectoral and dorsal fins, and a strong crescent-shaped tail. Estimates of megalodon’s body length based on the size of its fossil teeth suggest that a mature adult had a mean length of 10.2 m (about 33.5 ft) and that the largest specimens measured 17.9 m (58.7 ft) long.
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