Paleontologists recently rediscovered the largest known set of vertebrae from the giant fossil shark Otodus megalodon, popularized by The Meg movies as a hungry, gigantic man-eating version of the great white shark.^1,2 These fossils were lost until recently, where they were found in one of the collections at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. The substantial size of the vertebrae and their associated growth bands suggest that “the meg” took a long time to reach adulthood.² Both giantism and delayed maturation are associated with longer lifespans in living creatures.³ Thus, the size and growth of this giant shark, affirmed by this rediscovered fossil, are indirect evidence that animals in the pre-Flood world experienced extreme longevity, just as pre-Flood humans did (Genesis 5).

Although the fossil itself was missing, scientists knew from photographic evidence that the biggest of these vertebrae were about nine inches in diameter. This diameter has long been used to estimate a megalodon’s overall body size. Scientists recently determined that megalodons had a body shape more like that of the lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris.⁴ Based on the nine-inch diameter and additional megalodon fossil material from Belgium, scientists concluded a full-size megalodon was almost 80 feet long, with a body weight of 104 tons.⁴

Growth bands visible within one of the vertebrae can be counted like tree rings to estimate the shark’s age when it died. By comparing the fossil shark’s presumed body shape to that of living sharks, scientists can use a band’s thickness to estimate how much the shark’s length increased as that particular band was being formed. This enables them to construct growth curves that show how the shark’s length increased over time. Unfortunately, this particular vertebra was badly damaged, making it impossible to count the innermost bands directly. Nevertheless, scientists estimated the shark was 64 years old when it died. They did so by assuming the innermost bands were all of equal thickness, a reasonable assumption since many of these bands formed when the shark was growing at a constant juvenile rate.

However, recreating the growth pattern is complicated by an apparent kink in the growth trajectory at about band number 53. If all 64 presumed growth bands are used, the growth curve is a poor fit to the last 12 estimated body lengths but is a good fit to the earlier ones. In that case, the reconstructed growth curve implies the shark would have taken 425 years to reach 95% of its adult body length! If one more conservatively uses only the last 12 estimated body lengths after the “kink,” the time to reach this benchmark is 96 years. If a total of 83 growth bands is assumed (as was estimated for this vertebra when it was originally discovered), the time is instead 173 years. O. megalodon apparently took a long time to reach adultood.²

Because animals that take longer to mature generally live longer than animals that mature more quickly, this extended maturation is indirect evidence of great longevity for megalodons.³ In fact, other fossil sharks also show evidence of giantism and delayed maturation.⁵ Likewise, fossil oysters,³ crocodilians,⁶ birds,⁷ mammals,^8,9 and large dinosaurs^10,11 all show either direct or indirect evidence of long lifespans. Moreover, these fossils are found all over the world, with land and marine fossils jumbled together, entombed in water-deposited sediments that later hardened into rock. Of course, this is exactly what one would expect if the Genesis Flood caused rapid, catastrophic flooding of the earth’s land surface, as described in the Bible.

Bible-believing Christians should be greatly encouraged by these developments. Fossils, rather than disproving the Bible, are providing increased corroboration of the details found in the earliest chapters of Genesis.

References

1. Museum Sønderjylland. Lost Megalodon Vertebrae Resurface, Confirming 80-Foot Size Estimate. Phys.org. Posted on phys.org June 28, 2026, accessed July 2, 2026.
2. Shimada, K. et al. 2026. Rediscovery of the Associated Gigantic Vertebrae of the Extinct Megatooth Shark, Otodus megalodon, from the Upper Miocene Gram Formation in Denmark, and Comments on Its Paleobiological Significance and the Maximum Possible Size of the Species. Palaeontologia Electronica. 29 (2).
3. Hebert, J. 2026. Molluscan Methuselahs: Fossil Crassostrea Oysters. Acts & Facts. 55 (4): 14–17.
4. Shimada, K. et al. 2025. Reassessment of the Possible Size, Form, Weight, Cruising Speed, and Growth Parameters of the Extinct Megatooth Shark, Otodus megalodon (Lamniformes: Otodontidae), and New Evolutionary Insights into Its Gigantism, Life History Strategies, Ecology, and Extinction. Palaeontologia Electronica. 28 (1).
5. Hebert, J. 2024. Giantism and Delayed Maturation in Fossil Sharks: Evidence for Extreme Longevity? Creation Research Society Quarterly. 60 (4): 267–283.
6. Hebert, J. 2025. Croc Fossils Hint at Extreme Longevity. Acts & Facts. 54 (2): 18.
7. Hebert, J. 2026. Did Fossil Birds Live Longer Than Today’s Birds? Acts & Facts. 55 (1): 20.
8. Hebert, J. Methuselah-Like Longevity in Pre-Flood Mammals. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org October 7, 2024, accessed July 2, 2026.
9. Hebert, J. 2024. Late Pleistocene Body Size Reduction: Evidence of a Post-Flood Decline in Longevity? Journal of Creation. 38 (1): 60–66.
10. Hebert, J. Prolonged 40-Year Growth in T. Rex: Evidence for Pre-Flood Longevity? Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org January 20, 2026, accessed July 2, 2026.
11. Lehman, T. M. and H. N. Woodward. 2008. Modeling Growth Rates for Sauropod Dinosaurs. Paleobiology. 34 (2): 264–281.

* Dr. Hebert is a research scientist at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Dallas.