Height:  approximately 2.75 meters
 Otodus (Carcharocles) Megalodon, also called MEG for short. This Megalodon shark head sculpture is used as an entrance for an ocean exhibit. The life-size reconstruction was made in commission for the historic museum Historyland at Hellevoetsluis.  It contains teeth cast from real fossils. Finding the different tooth positions required was a difficult task. These fossil teeth can be very valuable. The sharks teeth are cast from polyurethane rubber. To use the shark’s head as an entrance, it was important that the teeth were flexible so that you can walk through it safely. Many drawings were made in order to make an accurate reconstruction. The eyes are custom-made, from clear epoxy resin.
 
The Megalodon was arguably one of the largest predators ever to have lived. With only a few contenders for the title. Its teeth can reach a maximum of 7 inches tall. For comparison, about the size of a grown man’s hand. It has long been thought to be directly related to the extant Lamniforme shark, Carcharodon carcharias or Great white shark. But recent studies lean more towards the ancient Otodus obliquus shark lineage. Therefore, the name has been changed from Carcharodon (or Carcharocles) to Otodus.
 
Megalodon literally means ”mega-tooth” for obvious reasons. It’s thought to have been long extinct. Despite popular theories, telling tall tales of them still lurking somewhere in the world’s vast oceans. It would have preyed on large marine mammals such as whales. Countless bite marks and tooth fragments have been found embedded in fossil whale bones. The Megalodon is almost solely known from fossil teeth and a few vertebrae because the rest of its skeleton consists of cartilage. This tends to decay before it can become a fossil. That’s why there is much speculation on its actual appearance.