Shark institute questions 'if the Meg exists' after picking up 50-foot 'megalodon' shape on ocean scanner

Most of us first became aware of the terrifying sea creature 'The Meg' thanks to Jason Statham's 2018 horror of the same name.

The iconic movie left many wondering whether the aquatic behemoth was still lurking beneath the waves somewhere... waiting.

Well, scientists asked themselves that very question this week when they detected an enormous, dark mass moving through the water.

In a post to Instagram, the Atlantic Shark Institute shared an image of a mysterious shape its researchers spotted during a recent trip.

And it left them asking: "Does the Meg exist?"

The post went on: "On a recent shark research trip we were all amused to see this shape appear on our fish finder 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!"

Now, if the thought that the gigantic predator could be back is utterly terrifying to you, I mean, it is, we've got some good news because it turns out that the scientists were actually mistaken.

Old meg remains as dead as the dodo; it turns out there's a reasonable explanation.

The institute explained: "We waited for one of the rods to go off however, much to our disappointment, the shape started to transition into a large school of Atlantic mackerel that hung around the boat for about 15 minutes.

"So close, but so far! The Megalodon (Otodus megalodon), disappeared more than three million years ago and will likely stay that way, but, for a few minutes, we thought he had returned!"

So it's safe to go back into the water, guys.

And it's a good thing they were wrong because if the Meg was back, we would be in serious trouble.

Researchers recently said that Megalodon sharks were apex predators 'at the highest level ever measured'.

According to research published in Science Advances, scientists at Princeton University confirmed the extinct shark posed the biggest threat to sea creatures as it would even snack on other predators.

This prehistoric shark was a frightening animal that loomed in the oceanic waters over three million years ago and this new revelation makes them even more terrifying than we every thought possible.

PhD Graduate in geosciences and one of the study’s authors Emma Kast said the Megalodon could eat anything it wanted.

"We're used to thinking of the largest species—blue whales, whale sharks, even elephants and diplodocuses—as filter feeders or herbivores, not predators," she said.

"But Megalodon and the other megatooth sharks were genuinely enormous carnivores that ate other predators, and Meg went extinct only a few million years ago."

Kind of puts Jaws into perspective, doesn't it?

Featured Image Credit: Corey Ford/Alamy/The Atlantic Shark Institute

Topics: Animals, Science, World News

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom