The awakening of the ancient marine giants: Livyatan, the colossal 62-ton predator, surpasses the mighty Megalodon with monstrous teeth
EXPERTS have speculated that an ancient sea creature was even more powerful than the mighty megalodon. Megalodons are an extinct species of mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago.
Experts have speculated that an ancient sea creature was even more powerful than the mighty megalodon. Credit: Shutterstock
The livyatan was a whale that lived about 13 million years ago. Credit: Shutterstock
The creatures, which evolved after the extinction of the dinosaurs, could measure up to 65 feet, about the size of three long SUVs. Due to its size and sheer strength, it is no surprise that the megalodon was an apex predator. animal that is at the top of the food chain and has no natural predators. However, there was another apex predator that roamed the seas millions of years ago: the livyatan. The livyatan was a whale that lived about 13 million years ago.
It measured between 44 and 57 feet long and weighed up to 62.8 tons, making it the largest whale known in history. What’s more, some experts believe that the livyatan would have fought against the ancient shark. To begin with, the whale could propel itself. at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, while the megalodon could only reach maximum speeds of 11 miles per hour.
Another advantage that the whale had over the shark was the size of its teeth. The livyatan had some huge teeth on both jaws, with teeth measuring over 1 foot long. That means that when the livyatan bit, it probably bit down large amounts of feces. Meanwhile, the megalodon’s teeth were only about half the size of the livyatan’s teeth: about 7 inches long. It seems that the livyatan was also a better hunter of rheumatism than the megalodon.
“Another problem for megalodon arises from the way they attack,” AZ-animals.com explained on its blog. “They prefer to dig into the stomach of their prey. In this case, they will get good food and blubber in their first few minutes, and that will not help them kill a huge whale,” the blog continued.
Ultimately, the outcome of a fight between a Livyatan and the megalodon would depend on a number of factors, including environmental ones. But based on the available evidence, the Livyatan is likely to take on the Megalodon.