The giant megalodon shark, thought to dominate the oceans of the world millions of years ago, was much smaller than first thought.
New research has suggested the beast, which died off around 3.6 million years ago, is not as large as interpretations currently suggest.
Paleontologists had suggested the megalodon shark could be an intense 65ft long, but it seems the sharks were much “thinner”.
Marine experts now believe the ocean-going predator was not a bulky killer but a long and leaner animal more like a mako shark, and would fare worse than a great white shark.
Megalodon sharks were still a force to be reckoned with though, as Professor Kenshu Shimada outlined in a recent journal, saying the sharks were “hidden in plain sight”.
