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Catherine Shuttleworth
Jul 19, 2023
A Satellite Photo of Megalodon? | Shark Week
Many on TikTok are convinced that the ‘megalodon’ still exists, after an old satellite image of the huge shark went viral.
The earliest megalodon fossils date to approximately 20 million years ago, and went extinct 3.6 million years ago.
Recently a satellite image has gained lots of attention on TikTok as users claim that a huge shark-like shadow that can be viewed beneath the ocean’s surface is in fact the extinct megalodon.
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One TikTok, from an account dedicated to creepy and unsettling sightings, says: “The following video is footage from a satellite. When you zoom in it appears to look similar to a shark.”
The video proceeds to zoom into the shadow and compare to the size of a 40-foot yellow bus, emphasising the size.
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The image has many viewers convinced that the extinct species exists:
“Humans had to adapt to all world disasters repeatedly, do why would it be impossible for animals to adapt,” reads one comment.
Another commented: “They’re absolutely still alive. The ocean is quite deep and we’ve only explored 5-10 per cent”.
“People keep saying we would’ve found a meg by now but do you have any idea how little of the ocean we have discovered?” One commenter told sceptics.
The clips used in the TikToks come from a video shared on YouTube by Discovery in 2014 (as seen above) as part of their Shark Week feature.
The satellite image was captured by NASA and initially caused huge concern as it looked like an oil spill. It actually turned out to be a swarm of non-hazardous microbes.
Whilst investigating the believed oil spill at the time, after the satellite image was zoomed in that shark-shaped shadow raised eyebrows.
Almost 10 years later it’s still not clear what the shadow was, but it’s clear there’s still speculation on if it is in fact a megalodon.
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