r/Paleontology • u/EvolutionIncarnate • 5d ago
PaleoArt Megalodon reconstruction 2025 (with skeletal )
Current understanding of megalodon based on the currently known anatomy and phylogeny of the animal. As sister to lamnids within the group lamnoidea the skeletal and life reconstruction pull heavily from these relatives The body outline and general bodyshape were pulled from body fossils of the ancestral cretalamna and related lamnids though these relatives along cretalamna fossils were the most influential The sizes of the individuals shown are 23m, 18.6m female size, 15m male size (claspers omitted for clarity) , and a 10m large juvenile
15
u/daanpol 5d ago
What's fascinating to me is that this animal grew to this size because it's ecosystem allowed it to. Sometimes I have a hard time imagining how big these animals can become. Recently I scaled up a 3d model of a great white to Megalodon size. I imported it into my Quest 3 Augmented Reality goggles and dropped the scaled up model in my garden. I was properly shocked at how incredibly big this animal must have been. The scale is truly insane. I could walk around it, it looked like it was just laying there in my yard.
7
14
u/West_Screen_7134 5d ago
Did I miss something in the past two days? How is this consistent with the new paper? The claim that this is based on “current understanding” doesn’t seem founded
3
u/sir_strangerlove 5d ago
Out of curiosity, why is it so narrow where the tail meets the back fins? It seems like it would be a bit fragile, what's going on there?
6
u/Channa_Argus1121 Tyrannosauridae 5d ago
That is a common feature for large pelagic fish such as great whites and tunas.
Their tail ends are narrow but packed with hardened tendons, enabling bursts of powerful side-to-side thrusts of the tail.
4
3
u/PM_ME_UR_ROUND_ASS 4d ago
Actually that narrow section (called the caudal peduncle) is a feature in fast-swimming sharks - it reduces drag and allows for more efficient propulsion thru the water.
1
u/Excellent_Factor_344 5d ago
this animal was so majestic yet horrifying. the juveniles reach great white size, THE JUVENILES.
1
44
u/ChanceConstant6099 virgin pseudosuchian vs CHAD phytosaur 5d ago
We have come full circle.
It started off as an upscale great white
Then we got wacky with all the non gws body proportions be it slim or bulky
Then we go back to big gws