Adapted from the bestselling novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten, The Meg tells the story of a group of scientists discovering megalodon living in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. The film is undeniably riddled with scientific inaccuracies.

Is The Meg movie scientifically accurate?

SORA KIM: Not likely. We don't have a lot of information in terms of what the shape and length of a megalodon was. Most scientists that do this type of research, their guesses are more like 50 or 60 feet. But we don't actually have a complete skeleton of a megalodon yet.

Is it possible for The Meg to exist?

He has spent years studying the megalodon — and says they are most definitely extinct. "Any suggestion that megalodon potentially still exists in unexplored ocean regions is complete nonsense based on not a shred of credible evidence," he told Live Science in an email.

Is there a thermal layer in the ocean like in The Meg?

In the thermocline, temperature decreases rapidly from the mixed upper layer of the ocean (called the epipelagic zone) to much colder deep water in the thermocline (mesopelagic zone). Below 3,300 feet to a depth of about 13,100 feet, water temperature remains constant.

Is there evidence of the megalodon?

Megalodon fossils are found nearly globally in all warm and temperate waters of the Miocene and Pliocene. These were not rare animals and their fossils are relatively abundant. If megalodons still existy, we would be seeing them ALL THE TIME.

How Accurate is "THE MEG" (2018) Could Megalodon Have Survived in the Deep Sea?

What ate the megalodon?

These studies suggested that shifting food-chain dynamics may have been the primary factor in megalodon's demise, as the availability of its primary food source, baleen whales, decreased and the numbers of its competitors—smaller predatory sharks (such as the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias) and whales (such ...

How many megalodon's are left?

Megalodons are extinct. They died out about 3.5 million years ago.

Why did all the sharks eat The Meg?

Jonas takes on the Meg alone and despite his submarine taking damage, he wounds the beast with his damaged submersible and stabs it in the eye, spilling its blood and attracting a shiver of modern sharks that devour the dying Meg.

How big was The Meg in real life?

But in reality, these animals were a little shorter than the 23-metre-long fictional monster it depicted. Estimates suggest megalodon actually grew to between 15 and 18 metres in length, three times longer than the largest recorded great white shark.

Is there megalodon in Mariana Trench?

The short answer is no. And here's why: Megalodons were warm-water creatures. In fact, paleontologists believe a cooling period that froze the ocean in areas where megalodon pups matured may have been the primary reason for their demise.

What is the percent chance that megalodon still exists?

A very small portion of the Zurich study's data — 6 out of 10,000 simulations — showed a 1% chance that these giant sharks could still be alive. That chance seems pretty slim, and the researchers wrote in the study that they rejected "popular claims of present-day survival of O. megalodon."

Did humans live at the same time as megalodon?

Megalodon did not overlap with modern humans whose first occurrence was around 100,000 years ago. TEACHER: Megalodon's relatives include ancient fish and sharks whose first occurrences are estimated at 510 million years ago and 435 million years ago, respectively.

Did megalodon exist with dinosaurs?

Even though megalodons and dinosaurs are both extinct, they never coexisted. The dinosaurs died out about 66 million years ago. Megalodons came later. The oldest megalodon fossils are from the Miocene Epoch, which began 23 million years ago.

Did Megalodons have 6 gills?

These megalodons correctly have six gills — between five and seven is accurate for sharks in general, she says. And the shape of the dorsal fin is, appropriately, modeled after the great white shark, the closest modern relative to the ancient sharks.

Did the megalodon have gills?

The megalodon is the largest shark to have ever lived in the world's ocean. Like other sharks, they had streamlined yet powerful bodies built to efficiently cut through the water. Their tailfin undulated side to side and they breathed through gill slits on either side of their head.

How strong is a megalodon bite in PSI?

With a jaw estimated to measure about 9 x 11 feet, scientists have calculated that megalodon's bite force would be about 40,000 pounds per square inch. Compare that to Tyrannosaurus rex, which had a bite force of 12,000 pounds per square inch, and it's clear you've got a mighty bite on your hands. Still not convinced?

Is the megalodon in The Meg realistic?

But The Meg franchise doesn't only lack sophisticated storytelling, it lacks scientific accuracy. Considering shark scientists advise against taking the films' exaggerated depiction of the 60-ton fish seriously — as a mere megalodon size comparison quashes any validity — we spoke to one ourselves.

Is there a shark bigger than The Meg?

While the Megalodon was certainly the largest shark known to have ever lived, it was not the only contender for biggest fish! Leedsichthys problematicus, meaning "Alfred Leed's problem-causing fish", was another prehistoric ocean giant.

Was The Meg bigger than a blue whale?

Is a blue whale bigger than a megalodon? A blue whale can grow to up to five times the size of a megalodon. Blue whales reach a maximum length of 110 feet, which is far larger than even the biggest meg. Blue whales also weigh significantly more compared to the megalodon.

Would a megalodon eat a human?

If the megalodon still existed, it could not only swallow you whole, but you could comfortably swim around inside its stomach while you waited to be digested. If a megalodon did a eat a person, it would be left wanting.

What killed the megalodon in the Meg?

The first plan to kill the Meg is to track it down and shoot it with poison. Suyin enters a shark-proof cage to kill the beast. She succeeds, eventually claiming the Meg's life. The group doesn't celebrate for long as a larger Meg emerges from the deep, eating the first megalodon.

Why did Li Bingbing leave Meg 2?

There Is No Confirmed Reason For Li Bingbing's Meg 2 Absence

When an actor departs a project so close to the movie's production there's usually an explanation, whether it's creative differences with the cast and crew or last-minute schedule conflicts.

Who killed the last megalodon?

Megalodons succumbed to global cooling due to the shrinking of their habitat, the vanishing of their favorite prey, and competition from other predators 3.5 million years ago.

Could the megalodon return?

Nope. Even if we could, it'd be a baaad idea. Bringing back animals that went extinct based on environmental factors that they weren't equipped for/they evolved into something better is really bad.

What is the largest shark ever recorded?

The biggest shark in the world is the whale shark

Though there are some reports of larger individuals, the biggest specimen ever reliably measured was 18.8 metres or nearly 62 feet long! That's bigger than a school bus!