FACT-CHECK: Were the Megalodon’s Infamous Razor Teeth Just for Show?

New research showed that the legendary Megalodon's infamous razor teeth were mostly for aesthetic than the utility.

The legendary Megalodon (Odus megalodon), whose name literally meant big tooth, is reportedly the largest shark to have ever existed. 

Before large skeletal remains were discovered, the first proof of the beast's existence is when giant teeth resembling those of a shark surfaced around many places around the world, hence the name big tooth. The giant teeth cemented the Megalodon's fearsome reputation.

Many people, including scientists, believed that the prehistoric aquatic beast's enormous teeth were a result of adaptation.

Because of its enormous diet, it has been assumed that they feed on whales, the Megalodon's teeth grew over time to accommodate the size of its meal. In other words, it evolved for a purpose.

However, a recent study at the University of Bristol claimed that the shark's enormous teet was a by-product of it being gigantic, rather than the previous assumption that it was to adapt to giant-sized meals. It grew to fit its enormous form.

The study also showed how the Megalodon teeth function in comparison to its more modern relative, the Great white shark. It claimed that even if the giant teeth were almost three times bigger than those of modern white sharks, it does not necessarily mean it is stronger

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Megalodon's Teeth

Being the most abundant remains of the Megalodon species, almost all shark enthusiasts and animal experts are familiar with how the massive teeth look. The ancient giant's teeth are broad and triangular, nearly carrying no resemblance to the curved teeth resembling blades of its living cousins.

Back then, the difference in the shape of giant shark teeth has been thought to have reflected the creature's dietary shift.

While the earliest incarnations of the Megalodon species most likely used their teeth as armor-piercing blades to catch small yet fast-moving preys, the later renditions are said to have used their jaws to bite off chunks of meat from its feast or dismember them using a powerful head movement.

University of Bristol's Findings

Antonio Ballell, a Ph.D. student from the University of Bristol, lead a team of researchers to study the nature of how Megalodon teeth function during feeding.

He said, "We applied engineering techniques to digitally simulate how different tooth shapes handled bite forces and loads resulting from lateral head movements.

"This method, called Finite Element Analysis, has been previously used to understand how resistant different biological structures are under specific forces.

"We expected to find that Megalodon teeth could resist forces better than those of its older and smaller relatives. Surprisingly, when we removed tooth size from the simulations, we recovered the opposite pattern: Megalodon teeth are relatively weaker than the most gracile teeth of other megatooth sharks."

Form VS Function

According to DR Humberto Ferrón, the study's co-author, the results might seem to have shown the opposite assumption of former scientific belief.

It looks like the Megalodon's massive teeth were the evolutionary result of other biological processes like its growth rather than the widely believed functional interpretation of the giant shark's dentitions.

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