But the evolutionary history of this shark is thought to stretch back to Cretalamna appendiculata, dating to 105 million years old - making the lineage of megalodon over 100 million years old. The oldest definitive ancestor of megalodon is a 55-million-year-old shark known as Otodus obliquus, which grew to around 10 metres in length. 'We now know that this is not the case, and megalodon is actually from a different lineage of shark of which megalodon was the last member.' 'A lot of reconstructions have megalodon looking like a bigger version of the great white shark because for a long time people thought they were related,' explains Emma.
![deep blue shark images deep blue shark images](https://www.deeperblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/A_Deep_Blue-1068x665.png)
Like the blue shark, it also had extra-long pectoral fins to support its weight and size. megalodon likely had a much shorter nose, or rostrum, when compared with the great white, with a flatter, almost squashed jaw. Most reconstructions show megalodon looking like an enormous great white shark. Researchers have estimated that megalodon had a bite of between 108,514 and 182,201N. Humans have been measured with a bite force of around 1,317 Newtons (N), while great white sharks have been predicted to be able to bite down with a force of 18,216N. These jaws were lined with 276 teeth, and studies reconstructing the shark's bite force suggest that it may have been one of the most powerful predators ever to have existed. It is estimated that its jaw would span 2.7 by 3.4 metres wide, easily big enough to swallow two adult people side-by-side. In order to tackle prey as large as whales, megalodon had to be able to open its mouth wide.
![deep blue shark images deep blue shark images](https://cdns.abclocal.go.com/content/ktrk/images/cms/1189660_1280x720.jpg)
Others even include the tips of teeth broken off in the bone during a feeding frenzy that occurred millions of years ago. Some of these have been found with the cut marks of megalodon teeth etched in the surface. We have other evidence of megalodon's feeding habits in the form of fossilised whale bones.
![deep blue shark images deep blue shark images](https://cdn.nexusnewsfeed.com/images/2018/7/DW9t0L7UMAAn0IV-1533521619571.jpg)
If you are that big you need to eat a lot of food, so large prey is required.' This would have included animals as small as dolphins and as large as humpback whales. Emma explains, 'With its large serrated teeth megalodon would have eaten meat - most likely whales and large fish, and probably other sharks.