The megalodon, Earth’s largest shark, is thankfully...extinct.

It was twice the length of a school bus. Larger than most of today’s whales and three times the size of the biggest great white shark—with up to 10 times the bite force.

Its jaws were filled with hundreds of six-inch teeth, which fell out and were replaced every few weeks. The megalodon’s large range meant that fossilized teeth have been found around the world.

This fearsome giant prowled Earth’s oceans for 20 million years—and an animal that size required a great deal of food.

Megalodon teeth have been found embedded in fossilized whale bones, and teeth gashes are visible in their petrified vertebrae. But it also could have eaten dolphins, large fish, other sharks...pretty much whatever it wanted.

Then, around 3 million years ago, Earth’s climate and oceans cooled. This killed off a third of most marine animals, especially localized species at the base of the food web.

In turn, that may have restricted the megalodon to a smaller range of warmer tropical waters, where prey continued to thrive.

Researchers believe that megalodon gave birth to their six-foot young in shallow coastal areas. As Earth’s water froze into continental glaciers, sea level fell and many of these areas would have disappeared.

We’ll never know exactly what wiped out this mighty species. But there are plenty of modern ocean creatures that are probably happy it’s gone!