Does Earth’s Mightiest Ocean Predator Still Exist?

Recently here at Mysterious Universe, my colleague Tom Head presented the fascinating account of the mystery of the 9 foot great white shark that was attacked, pulled into the depths and apparently consumed by a mysterious predator. The report has sparked much discussion and debate as to the identity of the culprit, with one name in particular being thrown around- the giant prehistoric predator,Carcharodon megalodon




It certainly is an intriguing and perhaps somewhat frightening notion that this enormous underwater killing machine, often called the deadliest predator that ever lived, could be still roaming the Earth’s ocean’s and preying on great white sharks. In order to truly understand and form our opinions on this epic predator of the deep and the possibilities of its survival, perhaps it is necessary to take a good look at this creature and the modern evidence for its possible existence.[/size]
[size=14]For readers unfamiliar with this creature, Carcharodon Megalodon, mostly referred to as simply the Megalodon, was a truly gigantic shark that prowled the Earth’s oceans during the Cenozoic Era, around 28 million to 1.5 million years ago. The Megalodon typically reached lengths of up to 60 feet long, with some estimates suggesting lengths of up to 80 feet, dwarfing even the largest of great white sharks and making Megalodon truly a formidable predator to contend with. In addition to its vast size, the Megalodon possessed giant, serrated teeth that were as long as a grown man’s hand, far bigger than the teeth of even the largest current sharks. The Megalodon’s size and deadly set of teeth were perfectly suited to capturing its prey, which mainly consisted of whales and other large sea animals. Such a monster would have been truly a terrifying sight to behold.

http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/06/does-earths-mightiest-ocean-predator-still-exist/

I very much doubt it still exists, but it does make for interesting reading and seeing one of these up close would be an eye opener if they did still exist .

It is doubtful, but still there are so many things we don't know about our oceans; we know more about parts of some of the other planets in the solar system than we do about some of the deepest parts of the ocean.

There's always the possibility that a tiny holdout population still exists but may not for much more. Hell, we see that going on with some land predators like tigers right now. I very much doubt they'll hang on for another century ...

I haven't seen one. But there are species of jellyfish I haven't seen, either.

The fact that no one has come forward and conclusively proved its existence, is no reason to discount it. Water is a different medium, and may be more difficult to research.

'Super predator' that devoured Great White was probably a 'massive' deep sea shark:


The mystery "sea monster" that “savagely devoured” a nine-foot-long Great White shark 11 years ago was most probably a supersized shark, researchers have concluded.

The incident came to light four months after filmmaker Dave Riggs and a team tagged the animal as part of Australia’s first large scale Great White shark tagging project to study their movement patterns along the coast.

The device was discovered when it washed ashore 2.5 miles from where the creature, who was named Shark Alpha was initially tagged. Data from the device showed the healthy female shark suddenly plunged at high speed to a depth of 1,900-foot, (580 metres) beneath the surface.

The tag recorded a dramatic temperature shift from 7°C to 25°C, suggesting the tag was inside the stomach of another animal as it ate the shark.

Mr Riggs's quest to find the mystery “super predator” responsible for the attack became the subject of his documentary, Hunt for the Super Predator, which has now aired on the Smithsonian Channel.

A trailer for the film saw Mr Rigg discussing the mystery surrounding exactly what could have eaten a shark of that size, but did not reveal what could have been responsible.

In the show, which aired on 25 June, he said: “The internal temperature of the animal that ate the shark is a weird one. It appears to be too low for a killer whale and too high for another shark, unless it was massive.

He added: “The big shark scenario is the theory that is most widely accepted although I’ve noticed a lot of other creatures being suggested online - I don’t think that Godzilla is a possibility though!”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/super-predator-that-devoured-great-white-was-probably-a-massive-deep-sea-shark-9568787.html

In the show, which aired on 25 June, he said: “The internal temperature of the animal that ate the shark is a weird one. It appears to be too low for a killer whale and too high for another shark, unless it was massive.

He added: “The big shark scenario is the theory that is most widely accepted although I’ve noticed a lot of other creatures being suggested online - I don’t think that Godzilla is a possibility though!”

Amazing, so the tag showed a drop in temperature than couldn't be accounted for by mere sinking ...

Ben_Reilly wrote:

In the show, which aired on 25 June, he said: “The internal temperature of the animal that ate the shark is a weird one. It appears to be too low for a killer whale and too high for another shark, unless it was massive.

He added: “The big shark scenario is the theory that is most widely accepted although I’ve noticed a lot of other creatures being suggested online - I don’t think that Godzilla is a possibility though!”

Amazing, so the tag showed a drop in temperature than couldn't be accounted for by mere sinking ...

Indeed Ben, gets more interesting by the minute.
Will have to find the documentary and watch.