Did scientists find a prehistoric shark? Not quite.
Megalodon 3D illustration (Getty Images)
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(WJW) — Is it possible for the megalodon, a massive prehistoric shark, to return after 3 million years? For a few minutes, researchers with the Rhode Island-based Atlantic Shark Institute thought just that.
In a post on Instagram, the institute shared a scanner image that stunned them during a recent research trip.
Their fish finder showed what appeared to be a megalodon under their boat for several minutes.
“Based on the length of the image we estimated the ‘Meg’ to be about 50 feet long, weighing in at 40 tons!” the post said.
The researchers threw their lines in the water in hopes of a bite, but the shape changed. It turned out to be a school of mackerel, which stuck around for about 15 minutes, the institute said.
“So close, but so far!” the post said. “The Megalodon (Otodus megalodon), disappeared more than 3 million years ago and will likely stay that way, but, for a few minutes, we thought he had returned!”