THIS MONTH

Statham’S finned friend

QIN THE MEG, A PREHISTORIC SHARK APPEARS FROM AN UNDISCOVERED OCEAN TRENCH. A BIT FISHY OR FACTUAL?

ADR. TOM FLETCHER, SHARK PALAEOBIOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER @FOSSILGUYTOM With more than 80 per cent of the ocean unexplored, it’s possible that creatures as large as the megalodon could be found, but unlikely. Sharks such as megalodon would have shed their teeth constantly, but the latest we’ve found are 2.6 million years old. We haven’t found a trace of it in modern oceans – nothing’s washed ashore or been detected in photos. I’d love it to be out there, but the scientist in me says it’s long gone.

But if it was around, would it want to eat Jason Statham? Megalodon probably ate whales, so unless Statham had eaten a lot of cheesecake and beer, the likelihood is he wouldn’t have packed the calories a shark really wants. I can’t account for how annoyed the shark is though, and The Stath seemed to annoy it a lot in this film! But sharks are beautiful machines – they’re capable of almost supernatural perception. As well as an incredibly good sense of smell, they have sensory organs all over their bodies that can detect small movements in the water, and they can even pick up the electrical signal of a distressed animal. Megalodon would have had the same arsenal at its disposal. Terrifyingly cool.