Discription Slide 9-16
Tyrannus = Tyrant; sauros = lizard; rex = king. T. rex was the most feared predator (an animal that hunts other animals) ever. This animal could remove over 200kg of flesh with one bite.
Over 12m long, with a weight of 7 tons. The post powerful predator ever. Even with his tiny arms it could lift 200 kg which is about 3-4 times more than a person can.
The “T. rex of the ocean” was “Megalodon,” a shark that was at least 15m long with a weight of 50 tons.
Length relationship between, Megalodon, whale shark and white shark. The largest white shark ever caught was 7.3m long and weighted about 3.5 tons.
There are a lot of fossil teeth around. On average, a shark produces between 20,000 and 30,000 teeth throughout its life. The tooth of a Megalodon (seen here) is fossilized. Fossilized teeth are brown or black. When alive, Megalodon teeth were white as well.
In comparison: tooth of a white sharks. These triangular teeth are made for biting into larger prey and remove a portion through a head-shaking motion (sawing). Both species fed and feed on marine mammals.
Fossil teeth are mostly found on land, due to the change of the oceans over time.
Fossil of a shark. Such findings are rather rare, mostly only teeth are found. Although the form seen here resembles a bony fish, it clearly shows jaws and other bodily structure identifying it as a shark and not a bony fish.