What Happened To Carcharocles Megalodon

[Harry Pristis]

"FossilCollector" asks:

What Happened to Carcharocles megalodon along the SE Coast of the USA?

I know that Megalodon teeth are regularly found along the SE coast of the US, but there is one thing that I dont understand. Locations that currently have a regular population of Great Whites (Megalodon's little cousin) seem to also have a large population of marine mammals (seals,sea lions, etc). I've even heard speculation that the high fat content of such marine mammals is necessary for a Great White's metabolism.

If such is the case, what kind of large "blubbery" sea mammal was there along the SE coast of North America in the period where the Megalodonwas around? Was there some sort of warm water seals? Lots of cetaceans? Or is the current theory that Megalodon was more of a fish-eater?

I know the joke about "What did Megalodon eat? Whatever he dang-well wanted to eat!", but seriously, what was the food supply like?

Putting aside the question of the doubtful relationship between C. megalodon and C. carcharias (great white shark) . . . yes, there were seals, walrus, and whales of all sizes for a big shark to eat. But, what wiped out the Western Atlantic population of megalodons was the loss of their preferred prey item--the aquatic ape, Australopithecus foetidus. Aquatic Ape Theory

C. megalodon hunted aquatic apes where these days C. carcharias (great white shark) hunts seals--in near-shore waters.

Aquatic apes were blubbery for buoyancy and to prevent hypothermia from long immersion in seawater. Female apes had developed oversized breasts for added buoyancy in supporting their less-bouyant infants.

The Florida population of aquatic ape thrived along the sea-coast till the Early Pliocene. Then, in one of those unpredictable cycles of planetary weather, hurricane after hurricane drove the hapless apes inland for safety from the storms.

The aquatic apes settled in the dry, hot interior of Florida, but they didn't prosper.

Away from the sea, the aquatic apes?s blubber was a liability. The females' flotation breasts were uncomfortable out of the water, and they tended to get a heat rash (the first rudimentary brassieres made of plaited palmetto leaves must have been invented in Florida).

But, these displaced coastal dwellers had other problems as they tried to adjust to the interior. The apes had developed head hair that grew longer than the hair on the rest of their bodies. This longer hair gave the infant apes an anchor point while swimming with an adult.

Away from the ocean, this long hair became another liability -- it became hard to manage. No amount of fingertip grooming for parasites and burrs could bring back the luster and body of sea-soaked locks. Both females and males lost some allure.

Besides the hard-to-manage hair, all these inland apes were hot and sweaty and lethargic and didn't bathe regularly so the birth rate fell off...they just lost interest in getting close.

Extrapolation based on modern apes suggests that these sweaty simians smelled like a road-killed skunk. Hence the name for the Florida population of aquatic ape, Australopithecus foetidus -- "stinking southern ape" or "skunk ape."

There is to this day an occasional report of a skunk ape in the wild interior of South Florida...typically, the report is of smelling one that has passed by recently. Skunk Ape info

C. megalodon declined with the decline of its preferred prey. . . once you've had Australopithecine, nothing else tastes quite so fine!

So the big sharks ate whale and dugong and manatee and walrus, but what they dang-well wanted was ape. The megalodons persisted for a while, but there was no enthusiasm, and they died out also.

---Harry Pristis

[i posted this back in September, but the forum has grown significantly with many new shark tooth enthusiasts. So, I decided to post it again.]

[gatorjames85]

I think I've seen some skunk apes at their preferred modern-day habitat, seedy local bars, so it must have been something else that caused meg to go extinct.

[Guest Cris]

Yes, I do believe Anson still exsists...... Seriously though, very interesting post. Thanks.

[Guest Nicholas]

Seems to me that their taste buds were their down fall. Didn't I see something on the news stand about skunk ape taking sky diving lessons?

Good post, Harry.

[PrehistoricFlorida]

Makes about as much sense as some of the other theories posted on this forum...

[DD1991]

There is a news story from last year about why the Megalodon went extinct:

 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/great-white-sharks-could-be-responsible-megalodons-extinction-180971512/#:~:text=The largest shark that ever,today%3A the great white shark.&text=Research pegged the behemoth's extinction to around 2.6 million years ago.

[Harry Pristis]

 

I am grateful to Bobby et al. for pinning down the date of the transition of the Aquatic  Ape to Skunk Ape.