Share by email As one of the largest predators to have ever lived, megalodon captures people's imagination - and for good reason. But was this apex predator simply a beefed-up great white shark, and is it still lurking in the dark depths of the ocean? Emma Bernard, who curates the Museum's fossil fish collection (including fossil sharks), helps separate fact from fiction. The biggest shark in the world The earliest megalodon fossils (Otodus megalodon, previously known as Carcharodon or Carcharocles megalodon) date to 20 million years ago. For the next 13 million years the enormous shark dominated the oceans until becoming extinct a mere 2.6 million years ago. O. megalodon was not only the biggest shark in the world, but one of the largest fish ever to exist. Estimates suggest it grew to between 15 and 18 meters in length, three times longer than the largest recorded great white shark. Without a complete megalodon skeleton, these figures are based on the size of the animal's teeth, which can reach 18 centimetres long. In fact, the word megalodon simply means 'large tooth'. These teeth can tell us a lot, such as what these massive animals ate