WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE MEGALODON WAS HIDING IN THE MARIANA TRENCH?

 WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE MEGALODON WAS HIDING IN THE MARIANA TRENCH?

You're within the deepest part of our oceans. The Mariana Trench. all at once, your sub-reports an earthquake. And while you appearance outside, you spot the terrifying supply of it. There is no mistaking the 15 cm (6 in) teeth of a giant apex predator, the megalodon. Getting bitten with the aid of this beast could feel like being beaten via three African elephants stacked on the pinnacle of each different.

What should this apex predator be searching within the deep? How should it resist sizeable stress? And how could the Mariana Trench make this apex predator more docile?

We know extra about the surface of Mars than we do about our oceans. And with only 15% of our oceans explored, who's to mention no historic predators are hiding someplace deep underwater? For example, the innermost part of the Mariana Trench, Challenger Deep, stretches 10,984 m (36,037 ft) down. You could submerge Mount Everest into it and still have 2 km (1. three mi) to spare.

That sounds like masses of parking space for a megalodon or. But the Mariana Trench is a mysterious, cold, and unforgiving global steeped in overall darkness. The temperature hovers around 2° C (35.6° F) all yr round. At its worst, the pressure is 1,000 times stronger than sea degrees.

So what if the largest apex predator in no way went extinct, like we notion it did? What if it adapted to these antagonistic surroundings, waiting to come by for its dinner?

 Million years ago, the megalodon was tearing into the equivalent of 1-and-a-1/2 cows a day. However, this weight loss plan could now not paintings for this historic, heat-water-dwelling apex predator. Due to the fact sunlight doesn't attain the depth of the Mariana Trench, there isn't any photosynthesis. And no photosynthesis method now, not an awful lot of meals. Instead, the deep-sea often scavenging on the decaying remains of plant life and animals from the higher sea zones. Large animals, on occasion, keep food in expandable stomachs for months. Others cope using being very small and wanting less food to live to tell the tale. So if our megalodon turned close to its pre-historical length, it would probably be some thousand years vintage.

And it could have the Portuguese dogfish and the Greenland shark on the menu. The megalodon might swim to the top reaches of the ocean and feed at night. Then return to the deep at some stage in the day. With a chunk of success, our hungry megalodon ought to even trap a few juicy giant squids. So what's preventing it from chewing into your puny 10,700 kg (eleven. eight-ton) submarine?

Properly, its tooth and bones won't be in exceptional form. That's because, with the acute strain of the Mariana Trench, proteins and calcium start to dissolve and collapse. The hadal snailfish, the innermost living fish we recognize, has flexible cartilage in place of bones. All deep-sea creatures also have molecules known as piezolytes.

Their job is to stop the other molecules from being beaten through the stress. The Mariana Trench megalodon would most sincerely want to stock up on a number of the ones. To keep its frame temperature, our megalodon could be warm-blooded. And to navigate in overall darkness, it'd need to both emerge as bioluminescent or develop huge eyes just like the giant squid. Its pores and skin ought to evolve to enable more excellent tactile approaches of feeling its way around. An expandable belly should help it store meals. And inward-facing teeth may want to prevent slimy prey from escaping. However, with such many custom fittings and edits to its genetic shape, would it still be the terrifying megalodon we understand? maximum in all likelihood no longer.

So that you can plan your trip to the Mariana Trench, understanding you wouldn't be eaten by way of a tremendous shark. And while you're there, perhaps you'd be up for a touch studies mission, like digging a hollow into the Mariana Trench.