The trailer for «Meg 2» has been released: the second part of the famous thriller with Jason Statham about a giant prehistoric shark. It shows a battle between this very shark and an equally terrifying tyrannosaurus.
And who would actually win in such a fight? Scientists decided to find out.
The megalodon shark, which means «big tooth», lived between 23 and 2.6 million years ago, in the Miocene and Pliocene epochs of the Cenozoic era. It is believed that they went extinct because of a combination of such factors as climate change and competition for food with other marine predators.
The tyrannosaurus rex, on the other hand, lived between 68 and 66 million years ago in the late Cretaceous period and roamed the western part of North America.
In reality they would never have met. But there is nothing to stop us from fantasizing – which of these two apex predators could have physically outmatched the other if they had nonetheless clashed.
The maximum size of the megalodon is the subject of much debate, because its skeleton consists of cartilage rather than bone. Cartilage rarely fossilizes, so no complete shark skeleton has ever been found.
However, a study conducted in 2021 showed that the megalodon reached a length of up to 20 m. It had a dorsal fin the size of an adult human.
A team of scientists created a 3D model of the megalodon to estimate its weight. They scanned fossilized vertebrae found in Belgium, recreated the spine, and scaled it up to actual size. Then they used an existing 3D scan of a great white shark’s skull to recreate the skull, enlarging it based on scans of megalodon teeth. And a 3D scan of an entire great white shark’s body, which allowed the researchers to measure the surface area, volume, and center of mass of the megalodon.
These data showed that the reconstructed megalodon weighed more than 61,000 kg.
The tyrannosaurus rex, meanwhile, could reach 12 m in length and 4 m in height. It is estimated to have weighed up to 15,000 kg.
So far the shark is winning.
What about speed? The megalodon could swim at a speed of up to 4.8 km/h, while the tyrannosaurus moved across the ground at a speed of 4.6 km/h – the figures are almost equal.
Studies also showed that the shark’s jaws produced a bite force of between 108,500 and 182,200 newtons.
And the tyrannosaurus’s jaw can produce a bite of up to 34,522 newtons.
If the megalodon and the tyrannosaurus rex somehow met after the shark made its way onto land, then it seems the dinosaur would have no chance. The aquatic beast is larger than it in every dimension and is more than capable of biting through sturdy bones.
But a recent study by Vanderbilt University showed that the tyrannosaurus rex may have had the same number of brain neurons as modern primates. If that were the case, it could solve problems, create tools, and perhaps be smart enough to defeat the shark after all, which, though stronger, is far more stupid than it.
