4.5★s
Big Meg is a non-fiction book by Australian palaeontologist, explorer, conservationist, and climate change writer, Tim Flannery, and his daughter, scientist and writer, Emma Flannery. The Megalodon tooth that seventeen-year-old Tim finds after a flood initiates a life-long fascination with the world’s largest-ever predator.

But, being a shark, the only fossil finds are teeth and some vertebra with growth bands that offer some idea of growth rate and age; there are no bones, so scientists can only speculate on its physical form and shape.

What is known about Megalodon is that it had a lifespan of up to 100 years, was probably warm-blooded, born at up to two metres long (probably aided by voracious intrauterine cannibalism of siblings) and a fast growth rate to an adult length of fifteen to possibly twenty metres.

Their diet is known, to some extent, from their tooth marks on the fossilised bones of their prey. Comparison to other sharks indicates that they’re not descended from, or ancestors of, the great whites, a comparison that will see readers knowing more than they ever thought possible about sharks without getting bored. One of those many sharks mentioned, still living in our times, is the cookie-cutter shark: from the description of how they feed, definitely one to avoid!!

The large birth size and rapid growth rate are possibly what allowed the Megalodon to become a gigantic super-predator, preying on other large predators, likely including other Megalodon. Members of the lineage thrived for fifty million years, and Megalodon was around for 20 million years, then, in the space of about two million years, were extinct: a mystery.

Scientists employ many sophisticated techniques to try to pin down the when of that extinction, hoping thereby to discover the why, but not all are useful. Theories on the why include the Earth’s cooling possibly affection food availability, the reduction in nursery grounds, sea level changes affecting migration routes, and I creased competition from other predators.

The abundance of Megalodon tooth fossils, weighing up to 1.4kg, can be attributed to the fact that many sharks completely replace their dentition every few weeks. Humans put those plentiful fossils to numerous uses: as jewellery, protection against evils, as hunting charms and as tools. In the 17th Century, the Megalodon tooth was believed to detect poison, to turn the evil eye.

Flannery describes the people who chase these fossils and the lengths to which they will go, diving in dangerous conditions, losing their lives. He describes how poachers frustrate researchers; how movies and TV have changed attitudes to sharks; how deterrents are of questionable efficacy.

Chapter 10: Shark Eats Man describes the many encounters that humans have with sharks and quantifies the risk: “The risk of death from attack by any shark is very small – around 1 in 3.7 million. That is minute when compared with the risk of being shot and killed in the USA (which in 2020 was about 16 in 100,000) or being killed in a car accident.” But it also warns that even in the Amazon River, when there are already many potential dangers, attack from a bull shark can occur 4200km inland. Chapter 11: Man Eats Shark comments on shark nets and the particular cruelty that goes into making shark fin soup.

The authors’ extensive academic credentials certainly lend weight to whatever conclusions they draw about this enigmatic creature. There are four colour plates to enhance the text, a handy index and four pages of comprehensive references. Flannery has a talent for taking a potentially dry topic and keeping it interesting and sometimes gob-smacking, informative, entertaining and even amusing.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Text Publishing.