Total size of giant prehistoric mega-sharks revealed

The great white shark – depicted in 1975 movie hit Jaws – is a distant descendant of the megalodon and often measures more than six metres in length. Picture: New Scientist/PA

The entire size of a prehistoric mega-shark made famous in Hollywood films has been revealed in a new study.

Previously only the length of the Otodus megalodon had been estimated, but a team from the University of Bristol and Swansea University have determined the size of the rest of its body including fins as large as an entire adult human.