The shark, known as Megalodon, was the largest fish to ever roam the oceans, and many still chase after the idea that they might exist somewhere on earth. Even from time to time, there may be doubts about being seen. The Atlantic Shark Institute (ASI) has to do a second check when these suspicions arise. As in the last example…
When scanning technology caught what appeared to be a gigantic fish “about 50 feet [15 meters] long, 40 tons in weight”, debate began as to whether it could be a megalodon. Unfortunately, the answer was disappointingly no. But the resulting image formed a surprisingly convincing silhouette of a megalodon, complete with a dorsal fin. Looking at what this living image really was, it turned out to be a flock of Atlantic mackerel.
After seeing the giant, ASI said on Facebook that “we expected one of the rods to break apart, but to our disappointment, the shape began to morph into a large herd of Atlantic mackerel that hung around the boat for about 15 minutes,” he continued: “So close, but so far! Megalodon (Otodus megalodon) disappeared over 3 million years ago and will probably remain so, but for a few minutes we thought it was back!”
At an estimated 15.2 meters in size, the outlines seen in the silhouette were suitable for the megalodon, which was estimated to reach up to 16 meters. It’s thought that cold waters may have something to do with their capacity to reach super-large sizes, but since then modern shark species have stuck to more modest body sizes.
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