Big meg The story of the largest and most mysterious predator that ever lived

Review by Booklist Review

Australian environmentalist and prolific author Flannery (Europe: A Natural History, 2019) teams up with his scientist daughter to introduce readers to the largest predator in the planet's history: the megalodon. Now best known as Jason Statham's action movie nemesis, the immense shark went extinct at the end of the Pliocene epoch (approximately 3.5 million years ago). The enigma of a shark so large it dwarfs the humpback whale and the Tyrannosaurus Rex, offers an opportunity to reconsider the entire ecology of the ancient oceans. Here, the Flannerys do just that, using data gleaned from fossils and the rock formations containing them. Chapters on shark evolution, the heyday of megalodon, and the ecological and environmental changes that caused their extinction help give a picture of the immense shark and its underwater world. Other chapters about the human/megalodon fossil connection, where to find the best fossils, and the long history of human vs. shark lore complete a biography of a fearsome predator.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Paleontologist Tim Flannery (The Eternal Frontier) teams up with his scientist daughter Emma (Weirdest Creatures in Time) for this intermittently stimulating examination of the megalodon, an extinct shark species that lived from 20 to five million years ago. Admitting that the megalodon "remains largely a mystery," with the only known remnants consisting of "fossilised teeth and a few vertebrae," the authors gamely cover what scientists have speculated on the basis of this evidence. Because megalodon teeth are usually found "as isolated specimens," it's believed the megalodon, like most sharks, produced and lost teeth continuously, with each individual "capable of producing tens of thousands of teeth over its century-long life." A study of growth bands in a megalodon vertebra found in Belgium suggested the animal was more than two meters long when it was born. Among extant sharks, the authors observe, such "large pups are indicative of both live birth and an unsavoury behaviour known as intrauterine cannibalism." The impressive science highlights how much researchers have been able to learn from a limited fossil record. Unfortunately, there's still a fair bit of filler about contemporary shark attacks on humans, the decimation of shark populations due to overfishing, and the evolution of sharks generally. Still, this is worth diving into. Agent: David Forrer, InkWell Management. (Feb.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A fascinating account of a super-predator that once ruled the seas. Australian scientist, explorer, and conservationist Tim Flannery teams up with his daughter, Emma, a scientist and writer, to offer a comprehensive look at the largest predator that ever lived, Otodus megalodon, a gigantic shark that's been extinct for millions of years. Tim Flannery's fascination with the beast began in 1973, when he was 16 and discovered a fossilized tooth on a beach. "The fossil," he recalls, "was large enough to cover my palm. Its silken chestnut-brown enamel shone brilliantly in the sunshine." It seemed magical. Such fossils, he discovered, were the only evidence that the megalodon ever existed, but they are not rare. The shark had about 272 teeth in its mouth, each replaced every few weeks. From the chemical composition of the fossils, scientists conclude that the megalodon consumed other predators. Much larger than even the largest of its ancestors, the megalodon weighed between 50 and 100 tons; an orca, weighing about six tons, would provide a mere snack. The modern shark, note the authors, came into existence some 200 million years ago, and about 100 million years ago began to act as the ocean's top predator. But when a huge bolide struck the Earth about 66 million years ago, non-avian dinosaurs, and about a third of all shark species, died out. Some 40 million years later, the megalodon arose and dominated the oceans, and the cause for its extinction between 4.5 and 2.5 million years ago remains a mystery. Besides imparting scientific information, including descriptions of many bizarre shark species, the authors report on humans' responses to sharks, which arise in rituals, myths, and tales, including Jaws (which incited Emma Flannery's recurring nightmares) and the 2018 film The Meg, which portrays the great shark "as a one-dimensional, murderous monster." A lively investigation into a marine mystery. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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