A rare discovery of Megalodon, the “ancestor of the sea monster,” at the bottom of the Indian Ocean
A rare discovery of Megalodon, the “ancestor of the sea monster,” at the bottom of the Indian Ocean 1-286
Scientists in Australia have discovered a "cemetery of whales" at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, which includes one of the teeth of the "ancestor of the sea monster" known as "Megalodon", and its closest relative, which is 40 feet long.
And “Megalodon” is an extinct type of shark, and it was one of the most ferocious creatures that ever lived on Earth, as it “ruled the seas” 23 million years ago.
Despite its length of 52 feet and its massive weight of 61 tons, it is known only from fragmentary remains, such as its teeth. What's even more interesting is what came before Megalodon and evolved into the monster of the deep, something that scientists still don't know.
The "tooth of the ancestor of Megalodon" was found, along with more than 750 other fossilized teeth, in a "graveyard of sharks" at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.
A rare discovery of Megalodon, the “ancestor of the sea monster,” at the bottom of the Indian Ocean 11685
Glen Moore, curator of fish at the Western Australian Museum, said: "The teeth appear to come from modern sharks, such as mako sharks and white sharks, but also from ancient sharks, including the direct ancestor of the megalodon shark."
He continued: “This shark evolved into Megalodon, which was the largest among all sharks, but it became extinct about 3.5 million years ago,” according to the British Daily Mail.
Moore, who was part of the team that made the discovery, said it was "amazing" that such a large number of teeth had been collected from a relatively small area on the sea floor.
He added: "It is incredible to think that we have collected all these teeth in a network of sea floor about 4 to 5 kilometers below the ocean surface."
A rare discovery of Megalodon, the “ancestor of the sea monster,” at the bottom of the Indian Ocean 1-287
The voyage was one of two biodiversity surveys of Australia's newest marine parks carried out by experts on the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) research vessel.
In addition to the shark graveyard, they also discovered a specimen of a new type of shark.


Source: websites