For millions of years, the oceans were dominated by a massive, deadly shark called the megalodon. Reaching over 60 feet long with teeth the size of a human hand, megalodon was the apex predator of its time.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to the question of what happened from megalodon to human in terms of apex predators: After megalodon went extinct around 2.6 million years ago, that title has shifted between different bear species on land and orca whales in the ocean.
Now, humans with our technology and global domination could be considered the closest thing planet Earth currently has to an apex predator.
In this nearly 3000 word article, we will explore the journey from the last megalodon to Homo sapiens’ rise to become, for better or worse, the world’s current super-predator. We’ll learn about megalodon itself, what likely caused its demise, and how the apex predator role shifted between various species over millions of years before humans ultimately took over.
Megalodon: The Ultimate Prehistoric Predator
Physical Attributes and Hunting Strategies
With a massive body measuring over 60 feet long, Megalodon was arguably the most formidable marine predator to ever exist. This colossal shark possessed 276 razor sharp teeth that could grow over 7 inches long, making its bite force an estimated 10 times stronger than today’s Great White sharks.
To capture fast agile prey like dolphins and small whales, Megalodon likely relied on ambush tactics, using sudden bursts of speed enabled by its crescent shaped tail.
Incredibly, analysis of fossilized vertebrae suggests Megalodon had a warm-blooded physiology similar to modern lamnid sharks. This allowed it to cruise long distances and thrive in cold waters. Active hunting in groups might also have occurred, judging from bite marks on some whale fossils.
Habitats and Preferred Prey
Megalodon inhabited warm coastal waters virtually worldwide during much of the Cenozoic Era from 23 to around 3 million years ago. Its huge size meant this shark needed vast hunting grounds with ample vulnerable prey.
While adult Megs could take on other whales, younger individuals focused on small cetaceans, giant sea turtles, dugongs and coastal fish. Nursery areas were likely warm shallow bays since newborn Megs measured around 10 ft long.
Debates Over What Led to Megalodon’s Extinction
Despite its supremacy, Megalodon inexplicably died out about 3 million years ago. Arguments abound regarding the causes behind its demise.
Some experts propose climate change impacted Megalodon’s food supply, especially as whales migrated to colder habitats. Others argue the shark lost out to competition from orcas and large predatory seals.
However, more recent research highlights how newly evolved killer whales using coordinated pack attacks to take out Megalodon juveniles, led to its eventual extinction.
The Apex Predator Title Changes Hands
Large Bears Dominate Land
For thousands of years, large bear species like the polar bear, grizzly bear, and Kodiak brown bear dominated the apex predator role on land. Their enormous size, power, and hunting abilities made them a formidable force, able to take down prey like bison, moose, and deer with ease.
Statistical data from wildlife authorities showed that polar bears and grizzly bears had higher success rates in taking down big game than almost all other predators on land. Their place at the top of the food chain was largely unchallenged until a new contender arrived: humans.
Orcas Take Over the Oceans
In Earth’s oceans, killer whales (orcas) claimed the apex predator title early on. Pod-hunting groups of orcas can prey on animals as large as blue whales, employing unique hunting strategies to take down different types of prey.
According to marine biologists, orcas have a success rate of over 90% in hunting seals, sea lions, large fish, and even great whales. Their intelligence, coordinated group tactics, and diverse diet solidified orcas as dominant ocean rulers after the prehistoric megalodon shark went extinct.
While shark species like great whites still flourish as predators, they do not exceed the killer whale’s widespread ocean supremacy.
Other Contenders for the Title Over Time
Throughout history, other powerful predators also competed for the apex title in their domains. Massive prehistoric crocodilians were likely the top predators on land over 200 million years ago. 600-pound saber-toothed cats known as Smilodon fatalis used 7-inch canine teeth to take down large mammals during the last ice age.
Today, big cats like African lions retain dominance in their immediate environment by working together in groups called prides. And while megalodon sharks no longer roam ancient seas, the great white shark remains an apex ocean hunter at over 20 feet long and 5,000 pounds!
But despite the fearsome nature of these predators, no land or sea creature has dominated the global ecosystem to extent of modern humans. With advanced tools and weapons enabling us to prevail in virtually any environment, humans firmly hold the overall title of Earth’s apex predator today.
The Arrival and Ascendance of Homo Sapiens
Early Humans Were Prey More Often Than Predator
For the vast majority of human evolutionary history, our early human ancestors were far more likely to be the hunted than the hunters. As bipedal primates transitioning from a largely arboreal existence, early humans were easy targets for big cats, crocodiles, giant birds of prey, and other apex predators of the Pleistocene epoch.
Without the benefit of strong claws, sharp teeth, thick hides, speed or size on their side, our ancestors relied on their wits and rudimentary tools to survive in a landscape full of dangers.
Research suggests that it was only with the rise of Homo erectus around 2 million years ago that early humans began to regularly hunt large animals and consume meat as a major part of their diet. Even then, competition with other expert predators of the time like saber-toothed cats likely kept humans solidly in the category of “prey species” more often than not.
The Cognitive Revolution and Improved Tools
The balance began to shift with the “cognitive revolution” of the Middle Pleistocene approximately 250,000 to 130,000 years ago. This period saw a dramatic increase in brain size and complexity in early humans like Homo heidelbergensis and eventually anatomically modern humans.
With bigger, more sophisticated brains came sophisticated communication, complex social structures, and revolutionary improvements in tool-making capabilities.
Instead of crude Oldowan stone tools, Middle Stone Age humans wielded carefully shaped hand axes, projectile points, and other specialized tools. These allowed more efficient hunting and processing of large game.
Humans could access nutrition-dense meat and fat, supporting further brain growth in a positive feedback loop.
Technology and Organization Give Humans the Advantage
By the time anatomically modern Homo sapiens emerged around 300,000 years ago, human cognitive and technological progress made humans true contenders as apex predators. Humans still lacked the sheer size, speed or natural weapons of fellow predators, but made up for it with unmatched intelligence, tool use, and the ability to cooperate in large groups.
Sophisticated weapons like the atlatl, spear thrower, bow and arrow extended the reach and impact of human hunters. Strategies like driving herds off cliffs or into traps allowed groups of humans to overcome animals much larger and stronger than any individual human.
Humans also expanded into diverse new habitats and spread quickly across the globe thanks to inventions like clothing, fire, boats and shelters.
While other fearsome predators like mammoths, giant birds, and sabertooths died out at the end of the last ice age, nimble-minded humans endured and thrived. Today, no animal poses a serious predatory threat to mankind – humans have definitively claimed the title of Earth’s apex predator. Our technologies and weapons have become so advanced that the balance of nature has tipped entirely in favor of Homo sapiens.
Humans in the Anthropocene: Apex Predator or Destroyer?
Global Domination Through Ingenuity and Numbers
Humans have spread across the globe and dominated ecosystems primarily due to their intelligence, adaptability, and social structures (Estes et al. 2011). Our large population sizes and ability to modify habitats with tools and technology have enabled us to thrive in virtually every environment on Earth.
Humans have been so successful that our boom in population, consumption, global travel, and pollution have defined a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene.
But at What Cost? Human Impact on Ecosystems
However, human activity has also led to deforestation, climate change, pollution, and the overexploitation of resources. According to the WWF, human activity has resulted in a 68% loss in global wildlife populations between 1970-2016.
Humans have contributed to the extinction of numerous species, including the Steller’s sea cow, great auk, Tasmanian tiger, and potentially the yangtze river dolphin in 2006. Our environmental impacts and hunting have also endangered apex predators like tigers, polar bears, sharks, and gorillas.
Do We Deserve the Apex Predator Crown?
While humans dominate Earth’s ecosystems numerically and ecologically, our actions have been ecologically destructive rather than stabilizing. True apex predators like lions, wolves, and orcas play an important role in maintaining ecosystem health and diversity.
Humans disrupt trophic cascades and food webs rather than supporting them. So while we have surpassed top predators in our global domination, we have not demonstrated the restraint, discipline, or stewardship over nature expected from a true apex species (Estes et al. 2011).
Conclusion
From megalodon to modern Homo sapiens, the identity of Earth’s apex predator has changed dramatically over millions of years. As climate shifts and mass extinctions have led to the decline of former alpha species like megalodon and short-faced bears, others have risen up to take their place.
For a long stretch, orcas and bears shared the apex title in oceans and on land respectively. But no species has dominated the planet to the degree humans eventually did thanks to our intelligence, adaptability and advanced technology.
However, with great power comes great responsibility. As we wake up to the widespread environmental destruction caused by modern human civilization, questions remain whether we deserve the apex predator crown when we are destabilizing the very ecosystems that we depend on for our own survival.
