The giant shark Megalodon, which has been extinct for roughly 3 million years, returns in the summer blockbuster “The Meg” to terrorize beachgoers and scientists.

Could Megalodon still be lurking in the deep, as the movie suggests?

Artist’s rendering of a prehistoric Megalodon.

Megalodon was widely distributed in tropical and subtropical waters, but only in shallow waters near the coasts. If they were living there today there would be plenty of evidence (not to mention attacks on people and small boats). Could they have evolved to survive in deeper waters and evade us? No, says Kessel. While there are new deep sea creatures discovered each year, they are small. Something the size of Megalodon would have certainly been detected by now.

Kessel joins us in discussion.

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