SHARK FAILS
100-ton prehistoric shark featured in new movie The Meg is believed to still lurk in the ocean say conspiracy theorists
The killer predator was three times longer and 40 times heavier than the largest ever recorded great white shark
A GIANT 100-ton prehistoric shark which ate everything it its path is still lurking in the Earth's deepest oceans - say internet conspiracy theorists.
They believe the massive megalodon - focus of the new Jason Statham film The Meg - has successfully evaded detection for millions of years.
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And their suspicions have been fuelled by several unexplained videos posted on the web said to show the giant beast thriving today.
The most watched clip was reported to have been filmed at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and appears to show a giant shark scouring the sea floor.
The clearly huge creature is recorded as it swims over the top of what is purported to be an abandoned shark cage.
Some believe its is proof megaladons are not exticnt while others say its bears a very strong resemblance to a sleeper shark.
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Another image is said to show a giant shark which has apparently been captured on Google Earth.
Bad Brad*9 wrote: "Our oceans are huge and there are vast areas that are still unexplored. I wouldn't be surprised if there are megs outs there."
Rchick added: "Scientists and researchers don’t know anything for sure. I'm convinced."
Evs wrote: "I think they went deeper into the seas like the giant squid which is why we never see them."
Weighing the same as five busses, the killer predator was three times longer and 40 times heavier than the largest ever recorded great white shark.
The terrifying predator, believed to have died out around 3m years ago, was once THE true king of the prehistoric ocean.
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If the 60-foot prehistoric shark Megalodon is still out there, this is what the super Jaws could look like
However, there are plenty who clearly believe the ferocious beast IS still alive today and lurking in the depths of the world's seas.
Although this may sound outlandish, the discovery of "extinct" animals happens frequently enough that it has its own term.
Living fossils, or species that were known solely through fossil record only to be later discovered alive, include most famously the bizarre coelacanth fish.
Thought to have died out 65m years ago, two species of the 350m-year-old fish were discovered living in deep sea canyons off the African coast.
Dozens of sightings of incredibly large sharks have become the stuff of legend among fishermen around the seas of New South Wales in Australia.
One shocking report from 1918, tells of a 35-metre long "monster" shark stalking the waters off the port of St Stephens.
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The hardy locals were said to be so terrified by what they saw they refused to go out to sea again for several days.
Dr Karl Shuker, a leading cryptozoologist, has dedicated his life to finding and researching animals thought to be extinct or non-existent.
The Brit expert writes: “Unusually large, unidentified sharks are still being reported from time to time.
"I personally think that this monstrous sea creature's present-day survival is an unlikely prospect, but it is certainly an inordinately interesting one to research."
Jason Statham takes on a gigantic shark in official trailer for The Meg
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And there is a genuine modern-day precedent for gigantic sharks remaining hidden from the rest of the world.
In 1976, a massive new species was accidentally captured after trying to swallow a ship’s anchor off the coast of Hawaii.
The giant creature, not surprisingly, choked to death and was later appropriately named the megamouth shark.
Images surfaced in 2016 which appeared to show what looked like a 60-foot shark illuminated in the darkness of Japan's Suruga Bay.
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However, Emma Bernard, fossil fish collection, says there is absolutely no evidence the behemoths are still around today.
She said: "With its large serrated teeth megalodon would have eaten meat - most likely whales and large fish, and probably other sharks.
"If you are that big you need to eat a lot of food, so large prey is required."
And experts say there has been no reports of any whales which have been attacked by a predator large enough to be a megalodon.
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Jason Statham joined by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for blue carpet premiere of prehistoric shark drama The Meg in LA
They say the giant had become extinct by the end of the Pliocene period, when the planet entered a phase of global cooling.
Precisely when the last megalodon died out is not known, but it was sometime between 3.6 and 2.6 million years ago.
The cooling of the planet may have contributed to its supposed demise in a number of different ways.
As they were dependent on tropical waters, the drop in ocean temperatures is likely to have resulted in a significant loss of habitat.
THE REAL JAWS - THE MEGALODON'S MIGHTY BITE
It's estimated the megalodon's jaw would span 2.7 by 3.4 metres wide, easily big enough to swallow two adults side-by-side.
The giant's terrifying jaws were lined with 276 teeth - measuring up to an incredible seven inches in length.
Studies reconstructing the shark's bite force suggest it may have been one of the most powerful predators ever to have lived
Humans have a bite force of around 1,317 Newtons (N) while great white sharks have a force of 18,216N.
However, researchers have estimated the megalodon had a bite force of between 108,514 and 182,201N.
They were top-level predators that hunted and ate whales, using their huge teeth and powerful jaws to devour their prey.
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It may also have resulted in the megalodon's prey either going extinct or adapting to the cooler waters and moving to where the sharks could not follow.
"No. It's definitely not alive in the deep oceans, despite what the Discovery Channel has said in the past," notes Emma.
"If an animal as big as megalodon still lived in the oceans we would know about it."
She added the megalodon would not be able to survive in the cold waters of the deep, where it would stand a better chance of going unnoticed.
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