Why Megalodon (Definitely) Went Extinct

For more than 10 million years, Megalodon was at the top of its game as the oceans’ apex predator...until 2.6 million years ago, when it went extinct. So, what happened to the largest shark in history?

"Correction: 9:36 This is an image of a humpback whale when it should be a blue whale."

Produced for PBS Digital Studios.

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References:

[eons]

As some of you have pointed out, the size comparison we show at 9:36 features a humpback whale instead of a blue whale. That's my fault! The illustration (from a stock photo site) was improperly labeled and we missed the mistake in our review. We spent so much time making sure we had all of the extinct species depicted accurately that we missed the (enormously) obvious error right in front of us. Sorry for the mistake! -Seth

[garyK.ACP]

I discovered that when I am in the ocean, my reactions to a piece of seaweed touching my leg and a Megalodon attacking me are exactly the same.

[hottea]

It’s crazy when you think that at one point in time the last megladon was swimming being the only one left of its kind.

[bravepigster]

The scariest thing to consider is that it’s not like there was only a few, since it was an entire species of shark, there was likely a number of them ranging from hundreds to near thousands.

[quimicoz]

"Why Megalodon (Definitely) Went Extinct"
Because it was over-fished by Hollywood studios in order to
figure in disaster movies.

[-Sharky-]

"Sand tigers, goblins, threshers, and great whites." Sharks get the most metal names.

[busterbunz]

we know the megaladon is gone but when i go into the water i still feel its presence

[yoalightbulb]

The amount of people who legit think the Meg is still around despite all evidence against it concerns me.

[The_Fancy_Duck]

I swear if I see one more comment denying that they went extinct and their first argument is "Well, we have only explored 5% of our oceans so we don't know what's in the other 95%" imma flip the table.

[Bananapocalypse]

"I know you're smarter than that"

Me: "oh god someone else I'm about to disappoint"

[tobygill]

Megalodons actually sound so scary, like imagine seeing an 18m long shadow just pass beneath you in the water..

[Protont]

Even trough I know Megalodon is definitely extinct I can still feel its soul is still swimming down there

[mandymonster]

I always assumed that megaladons evolved into great whites because we know certain animals, like crocodiles, used to be ginormous.
I definitely learned a lot of new stuff! I also feel like even if they still existed, we wouldn't have to worry too much because sharks don't like the taste of humans, and we would be too small to satisfy their appetite

[noodlesushi]

Megalodon: *goes extinct*
Whales: alright boys, let's get to work

[PsychicCatTCG]

“Whales today face few predators”

Humans: *intense sweating*

[venuka]

So basically I had a big pool in my school, and it was about 10 feet deep. It started at 3 feet deep, then 5 feet and finally 10 feet. Swimming to the 10 feet end of the pool always scared me, I couldn’t see the bottom of the pool so it felt like there was a huge shark coming my way… dam bro that was scary

[itsamagain.]

8:10 Imagine minding your own fhisbusiness and swimming through the oceans like every year and then south and north america out of nowhere say : Nope. We are closed for today. And forever.

[theelephant]

This lady deserves a medal just for pronouncing all of those fancy names correctly.

[securitybreach]

I kinda feel sorry for Piscobalaena. It got bullied by all the sharks

[charlotte]

I came across this video by accident, but absolutely love everything about sharks - Having great respect for them. Watching this video makes me want to watch The Meg again 🙈