I recently attended an event ran by the American Museum of Natural History’s “Sci cafe” called “A Sharks Lunch”. This event seemed more like humans providing an olive branch on behalf of the shark population for all the miscommunication over how truly harmful they are to us. California State University Dominguez Hills biologist Samantha Leigh, the presenter for this event, provided answers to questions about digestive performance in sharks. We also learned about the Megalodon, which in greek means “big-toothed glorious shark”– one of the most formidable sharks known to man. Luckily this shark has been extinct for over 3.6 million years. In this zoom we got more information on what this sharks typical meal was– and it definitely was not humans. It’s favorite prey – small whales, had vanished due to other predators , which led to it’s [megaladon] extinction.
The mouth of a Megalodon compared to an entire great white shark. (Every photo’s file size was just as big as the shark itself)
Before the event began, there was a Q&A about basic shark trivia which was very fun to play as a warm up before the presentation. I learned a lot about exactly how long sharks have been on this earth and I was shocked to say the least. I understand (or at least am starting to understand) that sharks are not as much of a danger as they have been portrayed to be in the media. Despite all this, I’m not looking forward to any in person encounters with one.
Hello Valentina, that sounds like a really interesting event that you participated in. Growing up in Australia, we are quite aware of the dangers of sharks, but also of just how few species actually pose a problem to humans. As this was titled, “A Shark’s Lunch,” was this primarily focussed on the feeding patterns of sharks? You mentioned a section on the megalodon’s diet of small whales, did they discuss modern day shark diets. I would be quite interested to hear if they found increasing ocean pollution becoming a problem for the sharks around the globe. I have had the fortune to meet a few sharks while scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, but none of them posed much threat to me…I too thank the stars that there are no megalodons swimming around these days!
I also thought about attending this event, I saw it on the Teen SciCafe newsletter page from the AMNH! I think the Megalodon seems so hard to imagine, even the picture alone that you show seems crazy to me. You write that you were surprised at how long sharks have been on this earth, I’m wondering… how long is that? Otherwise, great post and I’m glad you enjoyed your public science event.
This seemed like a very cool event to attend Valentina. I too feel that they are misunderstood creatures of the deep. Megalodon will always mean “Run” in my language, however, it is nice to learn its original Greek translation (Big-toothed Glorious Shark) but in all seriousness, I do believe they are just as imperative to our ecosystem as the next underwater gaint. Out of the 440 species of sharks that exist today, I am sure mankind can do without the one. It does make one wonder, what had to exist to sustain the Megalodon for the duration of its existence aside from whales? (The image is pretty stellar, gives a great gauge of how massive they really were).
Wow! This is really interesting; I have heard many times that sharks don’t like to eat humans, but as someone who visits Florida often, where shark attacks are common, I did not believe it. I had read that sharks have terrible eyesight and mistaken humans for other prey. However, I do agree with you, even if we are not their typical meal, I would not like to face a shark.