Megalodon skeleton from Peru

[Fossilhound2014]

https://www.telebaern.tv/300-show-onlinenews/23452-episode-megalodon-gebiss-so-gross-wie-ein-smart

 

[Laditz]

That is one mean looking fossil plate! But what struck me most is how tiny those vertebrae are compared to the head haha..

 

Also, the museum mentioned in the link looks pretty cool. Another one for the list if I ever visit Switzerland!

[Troodon]

Social Media had comments from marine paleontologists/biologists and others ...

: none had seen it  

: not aware that it was published

: part of a private collection

: vertebrae to small for the skull probably not associated

: Gordon Hubbell knows nothing about it which is very odd

: most very suspicious about it

: Special exhibit by museum, so possible reconstruction for exhibit.

 

One commented that it did not correspond to the research they did in estimating body length:

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308891065_SIMPLIFYING_THE_METHODS_-_BODY_LENGTH_ESTIMATES_FOR_CARCHAROCLES_MEGALODON_USING_ASSOCIATED_TOOTH_SETS_AND_JAW_WIDTH_RELATED_DATA_FROM_GREAT_WHITE_SHARKS_AND_MAKOS

[WhodamanHD]

10 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Gordon Hubbell know nothing about it which is very odd

Somehow that’s the thing that makes it most suspicious.

[oilshale]

Siber & Siber in Aathal is one of the most renowned mineral and fossil dealers in Europe.

http://www.sauriermuseum.ch/en/home/

 

[Al Dente]

Here's a screen shot of the vertebral centra. They don't look like Lamniforme centra unless there was a lot of removal of laminae during the prep process.

 

 

[RJB]

Very difficult to believe anything in our modern day society nowadays. 

 

RB

[JarrodB]

What a joke. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Maybe this is a new species of Meg with a huge head and a teeny body.

[Auspex]

IMO, the teeth do not look to be a convincing set from the same individual.

[Shellseeker]

On 4/30/2018 at 10:42 AM, Tidgy's Dad said:

Maybe this is a new species of Meg with a huge head and a teeny body.

  Great insight. Thanks for the laughter. Jack

[Laditz]

That will teach me believing everything shown in a museum is instantly "real" haha..

Was already thinking this Megalodon must have had a lot of back problems with these tiny vertebrae and big head.

 

Does anyone know if someone contacted the museum that this is at the very least a dubious specimen?

 

By the way: the museum does have a pretty cool virtual tour on their website. Did not see the Megalodon in there though

[Troodon]

16 minutes ago, Laditz said:

Does anyone know if someone contacted the museum that this is at the very least a dubious specimen

My guess is they know exactly what they have

[oilshale]

I admit it looks strange.
But again, this is not a small provincial museum. This is one of the best museums in Switzerland and they're professionals. Before we dismiss everything as ridiculous, I would wait until more information is available.

[Al Dente]

1 hour ago, oilshale said:

I admit it looks strange.
But again, this is not a small provincial museum. This is one of the best museums in Switzerland and they're professionals. Before we dismiss everything as ridiculous, I would wait until more information is available.

I think it’s possible that the centra belong with the teeth if somehow only the tail is preserved and not the rest of the vertebral centra. Centra from the tail would explain the small size and odd shape.

[Auspex]

3 hours ago, oilshale said:

Before we dismiss everything as ridiculous, I would wait until more information is available.

Your words of patient restraint are wise: there is a potential for our spreading harmful disinformation to many corners of the internet.

That said, I would like to question something that troubles me and begs explanation:

The teeth seem to be a chaotic mishmash of both sizes and positions; practically random. Also, while their preservation seems uniform, there is a random distribution of colors that seems unusual for a group from the same compact site:

[Bone guy]

Are there any other megalodon skeleton specimens that this can be compared to?

[WhodamanHD]

4 hours ago, Bone guy said:

Are there any other megalodon skeleton specimens that this can be compared to?

None near complete that I’ve heard of, though I once heard of a partial Angustidens in New Zealand if memory serves.

Edit: went and did some research, Angustidens was 35 articulates verts, some meg spines have been recorded with around 150 verts. One more than that in Denmark, I only could find one picture and it only had one vertabra in it.

[Ash]

On 5/1/2018 at 6:05 AM, Auspex said:

Your words of patient restraint are wise: there is a potential for our spreading harmful disinformation to many corners of the internet.

That said, I would like to question something that troubles me and begs explanation:

The teeth seem to be a chaotic mishmash of both sizes and positions; practically random. Also, while their preservation seems uniform, there is a random distribution of colors that seems unusual for a group from the same compact site:

 

 

Heya Auspex,

 

with the colours: we dug a pelvis out just recently. It’s sort of a steely colour. Around this pelvis (in same sediment and in the plaster jacket within inches of pelvis) we’ve been finding bones that are very blue. I don’t know what the hole in the middle of a pelvis is called, but in that there is another bone that isn’t part of the pelvis. This bone is white in colour. 3 colours all original deposit and all within inches if eachother, far closer than the teeth are in the above photo, and these bones have way more colour differences than those teeth.

[Bone Daddy]

The fossil appears to be divided between two matrix plates. The plate with the verts is separate from the plate with the head. Indeed, the verts looks very tiny in comparison to the rest of the remains. It just doesn't look right. Of course, I'm no expert, but my Spidey-sense is ringing. I would be interested to hear the back-story behind this specimen and how it was prepared. I'd like to give a major museum the benefit the doubt, but I've seen big museums make mistakes previously, so it wouldn't be unprecedented if they were hoodwinked in some way. Or, this fossil is 100% legit and I have some learning to do. Probably the latter.

 

[WhodamanHD]

Strange this thread has been revived. This is definitely fake, I’ve since learned what megalodon verts look like and these definitely aren’t them. 

[Abstraktum]

10 hours ago, WhodamanHD said:

Strange this thread has been revived. This is definitely fake, I’ve since learned what megalodon verts look like and these definitely aren’t them. 

 

Even though we get a little off Topic, this is something I always wondered: How does a Megalodon vert look like? I have never seen one. Not for sale, not on pictures, not in museums.

 

And as a follow up: Why do we have shark verts in the first place? I have seen several shark verts at Museums / online shops and so on, but I never understood why? Aren't teeth the only parts of sharks that remain? So why do we have them?  

[WhodamanHD]

8 hours ago, Abstraktum said:

 

Even though we get a little off Topic, this is something I always wondered: How does a Megalodon vert look like? I have never seen one. Not for sale, not on pictures, not in museums.

 

And as a follow up: Why do we have shark verts in the first place? I have seen several shark verts at Museums / online shops and so on, but I never understood why? Aren't teeth the only parts of sharks that remain? So why do we have them?  

We have a few at the Calvert Marine Museum, here’s a massive one from Gordon hubbell’s collection. I know of a few associated sets floating around which will likely end up in museums or are already tucked away in the depths of their collections. Shark centrums are one of the few structures that mineralize in sharks, so they can preserve from time to time.

[Abstraktum]

Thx for the info and especially the picture. That is really the first time I ever see a meg vert. Very, very impressive!  

[WhodamanHD]

9 hours ago, Abstraktum said:

Thx for the info and especially the picture. That is really the first time I ever see a meg vert. Very, very impressive!  

No problem. Know that’s a larger example. They range from around four inches up to that. Here’s one from the CMM

 

Link