Exploring the ancient shark legacy

tonight the biggest and fiercest shark in history will face the blue a mysterious Creature from the ocean deaths the fight takes place far out at Sea so people are not in danger but if Megalodon loses the life of all mankind may be at risk but first let's get to know our opponents better Megalodon was an ancient Marine Predator a giant shark feared by all Aquatic Life for millions of years Megalodon had no competitors in the oceans it was at the top of the food chain current sea inhabitants don't even realize how lucky they are because this monster went extinct about 3 million years ago although people can't know for sure if it's really gone the ocean is only 5 explored it's possible that somewhere in the depths Megalodon still terrifies all the fish and today the Colossal shark will fight against a worthy opponent the blue technically that's just the name of the sound the sound that oceanographers recorded in 1997. the creature that made it could be called a sea monster a kraken a beast from the deep no one knows how it looks but we can guess its size this ultra low frequency blue was so powerful that it could be heard by special sensors 3 000 miles away if you were in New York you could listen to the sound from Los Angeles but the sound was deep underwater where the audibility is actually much worse a creature that can make such a sound could be dozens of times bigger than a blue whale the largest animal living in the world interestingly the source of the sound is located near the most remote place on Earth Point Nemo it's located more than one thousand miles off the coast of the three nearest Islands this place is one of the most poorly studied on our planet Point Nemo is used by many companies as a space garbage dump because of the long distance from Land every year satellites fall there but the worst thing is that the coordinates of the fictional ancient city of relay are near Point Nemo that city was described in the books of author H.P Lovecraft among the ruins of relay the master Catholic who lives yeah it sounds nothing like it looks hey neither do I hey Cthulhu buy a vowel will you man it's like a cat walked across the keyboard and there's your name this is an entirely fictional creature but many people think it could be the source of the Blue the chances of the Megalodon winning are small because Cthulhu is a demigod it has arms and legs wings and a head resembling a colossal octopus or clam with dozens of long tentacles it's impossible to determine cthulhu's size but if you believe the records of writers and drawings its size can reach up to 300 feet in height the Megalodon is five times smaller at about 60 feet or slightly less than one subway car ooh a nice lunch for a monster shark the shark weighs about 100 tons like two tanks the weight of Cthulhu is also unknown but we can say with confidence that it can easily lift two tanks with its hands but Cthulhu can change its size and shape it will it can be anybody from the size of a human to the extent of a continent also Cthulhu can spawn any number of Limbs but let's not stray too far into fantasy otherwise Megalodon won't stand a chance to win let's say Cthulhu has a constant size so in size Megalodon loses to its opponent Cthulhu is an ancient wise being that is more than a million years old it has secret knowledge and telepathy Megalodon is primarily an animal that simply follows its instincts one of the main advantages of any match is intelligence so Cthulhu wins against the giant shark again Lovecraft described Cthulhu sleeping for many Millennia and waiting to awaken to start an apocalypse therefore all people in the world are interested in a Megalodon Victory to support the Shark People send their ships to help it's a bit unfair but even now Cthulhu wins the monster can control people telepathically it gives an order to every sailor's brain and all the ships sail away from the battlefield within the ocean waters somewhere in the southern hemisphere a ghostly black shadow looms deep down in the depths suspiciously swimming far below the Megalodon is hunting for its next meal with the appearance of a great white shark but three times the size of the largest ever recorded its intimidating design has evolved over millions of years creating the ultimate natural predator for millions of years the intimidating evolutionary traits have gone unchecked and unopposed with its Keen senses it detects its prey within three miles as it swims below it's been following an unsuspecting sea turtle that's slowly paddling above on a long Voyage the Megalodon stalks the turtle ensuring it makes its move toward the turtle at the right moment swimming Upward at 11 miles per hour intending to immobilize the turtle by ramming it as it approaches the Megalodon's add-ap senses notice something else lurking nearby pausing its pursuit of the turtle it adjusts and turns to face another much larger object the Megalodon may be the largest Marine Predator to have ever lived on earth rightfully feared by All Creatures Within These Waters but not today there is a newcomer to these parts one that has a similar reputation and matches the Megalodon in ferocity this unknown creature intends to contest these hunting grounds the Challenger is the Leviathan as the sea turtle takes this opportunity to swim away as fast as it's able these two apex predators size each other up from a distance preparing to establish who will reign as the Supreme king of the sea the Megalodon dominated the ocean sometime between 3 to 23 million years ago spreading to all corners of the globe within Seas surrounding Europe Africa the Americas and Australia Its focus is mainly on offshore areas where prey would be prominent hunting sea turtles whales seals dolphins and other sharks its range was long traveling between Coastal and oceanic Waters throughout different stages of its life cycle given that the territory they cover grows with each year they live and the wide range of prey available to them the Megalodon size can reach up to 67 feet in length armed with thick and robust teeth made for grabbing their prey and biting through bone they have a 41 thousand pound bite force which is almost four times stronger than that of a T-Rex their tactics include ambushing their prey from below while ramming them into submission with larger prey they aim to disable them by biting at the fins and once immobilized biting through their chest their jaw is made up of around 276 frightening serrated edge teeth that are seven inches long and Jagged at the sides the Megalodon's competitor the Leviathan is armed with 22 large teeth of its own that come in various sizes some up to 12 inches long all are capable of piercing through its Target excluding tusks in comparison these are among the largest teeth that have ever existed on any known animal although it hasn't reached an overall equivalent size to the Megalodon its length is equally impressive as it's capable of growing as large as 57 feet long mainly living within the southern hemisphere they've only been around for a short while existing from 9 to 10 million years ago although it hunts similar prey to the Megalodon it has a different strategic method of hunting chasing its prey tiring it out to the point of exhaustion and then finishing it off by ramming it with its head and then biting it it also has a more adaptive trait in its Arsenal its much larger brain being a warm-blooded mammal it possesses Superior intelligence ensuring quicker thinking with the ability to change its tactics at crucial moments the Megalodon acts on sheer Instinct and that has worked consistently for the past few million years but will it work now although there are millions of years of difference between when these two behemoths existed and patrolled the Seas they shared a short period of time in history but when they did overlap one another's territory they created some of the most epic conflicts that have ever been had on Earth this Megalodon's Turf has never been in contention until now as the Leviathan approaches observing the much larger Megalodon it's hesitant to make the first move as generally anything that it has come across before attempts to escape immediately causing a Chase to begin the Megalodon however never flees the Megalodon's instincts ensure it will act overconfident and as expected it makes the first move it swims at full speed gliding through the water in Ram the Leviathan The Leviathan has no other choice but to do the same rather than turning to flea and leaving itself unprotected two aquatic Giants slice through the water on their way to meet Finn to Finn Megalodon is puzzled that its foe is not turning tail to swim away but it continues as it has no reason to doubt Victory from this tried and true tactic that has never failed before as the Megalodon approaches it quickly turns to swim downward it's faster and more agile than its opponent it Maneuvers below gaining some distance the Leviathan moves much slower and is unable to turn in time as the Megalodon veers upward and Rams it on its soft underbelly attempting to force it into submission there is little effect due to its size and the Leviathan continues to turn but it's far too slow as it attempts to bite with a desperate hope to grasp its attacker with its powerful jaws the Megalodon easily swims away from its toothy trap quickly retaliating by taking aim at the tail and fins chipping away at little pieces as it bites then quickly Retreats continuing this routine over and over trying to disable the leviathan's defenses this tactic is effective but it's taxing on the Megalodon as it's running out of energy still it pushes hard to try and finish the hunt hey let's take a deep dive into ocean waters to see which of these creepy looking animals are our friends we're swimming in the tropical waters of nanino Bulova Island near Fiji can you see those giant creatures the size of a Volkswagen Beetle those are manta rays they've got a long whip-like tail and large flat Diamond bodies there are two species of manta rays The Reef manta ray and the giant manta ray they belong to the same family as sharks but they only have small teeth in their lower jaw feet on zooplankton tiny fish and crustaceans manta rays are social animals and they like people once you let them come close to you they'll swim around you to observe you don't chase them though because they're super fast swimmers their name translates to cloak or blanket and out of all sea creatures they've got the largest brain compared to body weight ratio these fellas can recognize themselves in a mirror the Asian sheep's head wrasse follows even if it seems unsightly it's one of the friendliest fish you'll come across in the shallow Waters of Japan China and Korea it has protrusions on both his jaw and head it likes to hide in its anemone and it's usually scared to go out even at 40 inches long one of these fellows developed a friendship with the Japanese scuba diver 30 years ago when the diver found the fish it was injured and he helped it recover the diver had been the caretaker of an underwater Shinto Shrine he calls the fish by hitting the underwater Bell time to go swimming with the largest fish in the world the whale shark though these creatures are sharks they have a lot in common with whales they can live for 100 years though they've got tiny brains they're indifferent to humans these fellas don't care about anything they can't eat and unlike other shark species they won't bite you whale sharks are filter feeders they do have teeth 3 000 of them but they don't use them they've got a massive mouth like me but their throat is only the size of a quarter next we have the Sunfish a fish without a tail that looks like it's been cut in half it has large fins and when you see it breaching on the surface you'll think a shark is approaching the Sunfish Dives deep in the water to let other fish exfoliate his skin and remove parasites once they're done it returns to the surface to sunbathe it's also a voracious eater if it sees you in the waters it'll likely approach you and observe you within a day you'll be able to feed it from the palm of your hand time for the animal that looks like it's always smiling the bottlenose dolphin it's one of the most social sea creatures and it travels in groups it enjoys playing hunting raising calves and helping out his community but on those dolphins are excellent swimmers with speeds reaching 19 miles per hour they usually come up to the surface to breathe air through the blowhole on their head these creatures are great communicators and they send messages to each other they use echolocation to navigate and find food when they spot people they become very friendly so much that they let their guard down and it makes them vulnerable to other sea creatures such as sharks heading to the Pacific coast will come across some gray whales their skin is covered with parasites and other organisms that make their snouts look like rough pieces of rock we got to get on their nice side first gray whales can attack a large boat a ship or a vessel if they sense their calves are in danger but generally they're friendly and appear unbothered by rowing kayakers in some cases they'll approach small boats and allow humans to touch them though you're required by law to keep your distance if it wants to get closer it will if it feels threatened it will act aggressively now let me show you a fish with a tool on its head the hammerhead shark their skull helps them with hunting their eyes are placed on the Hammer's outer edges and gives them a 360 degree vertical view but they've got a blind spot in front of their nose their heads are like metal detectors most of what they want is below the sand surface so they lightly dip their heads in the sand and sweep up whatever is under there you'll see them in temperate and tropical waters both near the shorelines and offshore they usually move in grooves they're mostly harmless to humans and divers but there have been a few occasions where they got aggressive but before they do they'll give you a bunch of warning signs and divers know how to handle them now I'll show you something kind of smaller the sea lion these creatures are a bit tricky they're playful aggressive arrogant smart and above all curious sea lions can't breathe underwater but they can dive almost a thousand feet deep and they can hold their breath for a long time they take in air through their nose and once they dip their heads in the waters their nostrils slam shut if they spot humans at the beach they'll stay away and wait for them to leave wild sea lions aren't the friendliest to anyone especially if they feel threatened the approachable ones have been trained in captivity beluga whales are next they're white with bulgy heads and they're amongst the most social and loudest you'll ever meet their upwards facing mouths make them look like they're smiling when beluga whales are born they're a dark gray shade it takes eight years for their skin to turn white they can change the shape of their heads by blowing air around their sinuses beluga whales love humans once they make human friends they don't want to leave even though they're wild animals they become too entrusting with people marine biologists suggest staying away for their safety the stonefish stonefish aren't going to win any beauty contests unless the pageant is for best rock look alike their tiny unreflective eyes and rough skin blend in perfectly with their environment a large head an even bigger mouth and a home full of chia it's rocks and just cause you're on the beach doesn't mean you're safe stonefish can survive for 24 hours out of the water stepping on one or even handling one won't be that fun their dorsal fin spines have extremely strong venom it shoots out when they get stepped on and can lead to paralysis or even heart failure you'll need help fast no wonder they're one of the most dangerous creatures in the water or anywhere be careful when scrambling around Rocky areas they love to play hide and seek the deep sea dragon fish if there were a prize for the most hideous fish in the ocean the deep sea dragon fish would win with slimy scaleless skin massive teeth and a face only a mother could love this bad boy of the sea is nothing to mess with it likes to swim between 700 feet and 6 000 feet below the surface of the ocean where the waters are the darkest and coldest along with some other creatures on this list the deep sea dragon fish relies on its bioluminescent body parts to catch prey it also uses its hanging appendage which boasts a little red light on the end coming out from its lower jaw many fish mistake This little light for prey luring them right into the jaws of the deep sea dragon fish very clever Dragonfish very clever indeed the fang tooth the Mariana Trench is an underwater trench with a depth of 35 000 feet nearly seven miles below the ocean's surface let that sink in while scientists know the Mariana Trench exists it's one of the least explored places on Earth it's also the deepest area of Earth's oceans and although many creatures down there probably haven't even been seen by humans yet scientists have had the creepy pleasure of getting to know the fang tooth the fangtooth fish shamelessly lives up to its name just look at that thing the fang tooth is carnivorous and feeds on just about anything it can find that gets caught in its sharp toothed mouth these fish rely on their contact chemo reception to find prey in other words they can sense chemical residue that comes off of other living organisms in the deep sea this is because they don't have any light producing cells on their bodies unlike many other deep sea fish on top of all that it's pretty dark down there so whatever crosses their path they Chomp on while these guys look pretty scary they're not a threat to humans they only grow about seven inches long even so I wouldn't want to run into one of these things during a relaxing swim in the ocean the Dunkleosteus strangely enough this prehistoric fish known as the T-Rex of the Seas had no teeth those were replaced with bony plates that allowed it to have the strongest bite among other monsters of its size the goblin shark if you thought the movies about sharks were scary this next deep sea creature will make you swear off going for dips in the ocean forever however it lives three thousand feet under water so you'll never likely see it face to face the goblin shark looks like a cross between a shark and a creature from your worst nightmare these sharks boast a protruding sword-like snout with a jaw that juts out to match unlike other sharks that have more of a gray Hue This creepy thing looks Not So Pretty in Pink aside from their scary demeanor what do scientists really know about the goblin shark well not much except that they can grow up to 18 feet in length looks like there's still a lot to learn about these guys if you dare to by the way did you know that sharks don't sleep many species have to keep water moving over their gills to get oxygen so they can't fall into a deep sleep like we do that's why they stay half awake during rest typically sharks don't even close their eyes the cookie cutter shark this shark is a living horror with lower teeth being big and sharp while the upper ones are much smaller when its teeth fall off the shark eats them to maintain calcium levels pretty smart solution for a shark the frilled shark studying the frilled shark is like looking through a portal back to prehistoric times that's because scientists think that these eel-like sharks haven't changed much since their oldest ancestors roamed the deep sea Waters so they're sometimes referred to as living fossils these sharks mouths are filled with a terrifying 25 rows of backward facing sharp teeth 300 in total they're designed to grasp prey and hold them tight so they can't get away according to early studies of the shark conducted in 1884 and published in the bulletin of the Essex Institute luckily for swimmers the frilled sharks lived between 390 feet and 4 200 feet below the ocean's surface so they'll probably never run into them probably this is probably the worst nightmare of any dentist the northern stargazer take a look at this cutie the northern stargazer is definitely not something you'd wish to see on the ocean floor this horrid creature hides its body under the sand leaving its face above to wait for prey