The mighty blue whale would be just a snack to this giant mega shark

A new study from the Florida Museum of Natural History reveals that the ancient and giant shark Megalodon-which could reach sizes in upwards of 40 feet-may have preyed on early baleen whales.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The paper also suggests a new date for the extinction of Megalodon-2.6 million years ago.

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This date falls between the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, and it is after this point that baleen whales begin to grow towards their current gigantic sizes.

Marine mammals are believed to have been a large part of the shark's diet, though there isn't any conclusive evidence that they fed on baleen whales. However, their fossils are often found alongside Megalodon teeth.

Baleen whales filter tiny animals from the water through a fibrous structure in their mouth. The largest animal alive today is part of this group-the blue whale, which can grow to 100 feet in length.

Scientists believe that the extinction of the giant shark may have been what allowed baleen whales to thrive and become the largest animals ever on the Earth.

"When we found out when that happened, we noticed it coincided with the pattern mentioned in whales. Now we need to find out if one event-Megalodon's extinction-caused the other, [the] evolution of gigantism in whales," said the study's co-author Catalina Pimiento.

"From modern sharks, it is known that larger individuals have a broader range of prey size, including larger prey. That means that the larger prey will be predated mostly by larger sharks."

Fossils from the giant shark are found all across the world, including Europe, Africa, North America and South America. The largest teeth measure about seven inches.

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