Massachusetts

The Megalodon: The Extinct Shark That Keeps Making a Comeback

For the return of "Shark Tales," our podcast series that explores the world of sharks in New England, we asked shark experts what they know about the megalodon, which is certainly dead and gone, no matter what video goes viral

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From the Loch Ness Monster to Big Foot, our imaginations are always running wild over what unseen creatures might be lurking out in the unknown. 

The megalodon is one of these monstrous entities that people are convinced are still swimming around, but the big difference is this giant prehistoric shark was real -- millions of years ago.

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Scientists say that this massive predator was likely the size of a house and preyed on sea creatures as big as whales. A recent TikTok video showing what people thought might be a megalodon went viral with over 67 million views.

But, no matter what people believe, there is no chance that any megalodons exist in the ocean, and the creature in the video was was just a basking shark. For the return of "Shark Tales," our podcast series that explores the world of sharks in New England, we asked a group of shark experts what they know about “The Meg,” as it was called in the 2018 sci-fi action movie of the same name, and why they are certainly dead and gone. You’ll learn what helped propagate the myth and why we might have more “sightings” coming up this summer.

Love what you hear? Catch up on the first two seasons of "Shark Tales" featuring interviews with local and international shark experts on everything from jumping sharks to how they poop. Click here to listen, or download episodes wherever listen to your podcasts.

Bryan Legare from the Center for Coastal Studies shows some amazing visualizations of their research into shark movement near Cape Cod.
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