Study ‘sizes up’ giant prehistoric shark

The size of a prehistoric mega-shark made famous in Hollywood films has been revealed in a new study.

Previously only the length of the Otodus megalodon had been estimated, but a team from the University of Bristol and Swansea University have determined the size of the rest of its body including fins as large as an entire adult human.

Researchers used mathematical methods and comparisons with living relatives to find the overall size of the megalodon, which lived from about 23 million to three million years ago but has attracted fame more recently in Hollywood movies including The Meg.

The results suggest a 16- metre mega lo don is likely to have had a head around 4.65 metres long, a dorsal fin approximately 1.62 metres tall and a tail around 3.85 metres high.