The Megamouth is brown to back in color on the top and their underbelly is whitish in color.

The Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios) is a shark few people have ever heard about. One reason for the obscurity of the Megamouth Shark is does not attack humans and stays out of reach of places where humans congregate. As such, it stays off their radar.

Very little is known about the Megamouth Shark. It was not discovered until 1976 when it was discovered by the US Navy vessel AFB14. Since then, only 25 megamouths have been spotted and most of those were dead ones that washed up on the beach or got caught inn nets.

Megamouth Shark Habitat

The Megamouth Shark can be found in deep water. During the day, they are found as deep as 3,281 feet/1000 meters. They may even be found much deeper than this but because very few have been found in the wild it is very diffcult to know how dee they can actually wander. At night, the Megamouth Shark can be found close to the surface or as shallow as 40 feet/25 meters.

Megamouth Shark Features and Size

Megamouth Sharks are named so because they have a large mouth that opens very wide. A male megamouth shark can reach 13 feet/4 meters long while the female can reach 18 feet/5.5 meters long. At this length, the Megamouth Shark can weigh as much as 1,215 kilograms/2,680 pounds.

The Megamouth is brown to back in color on the top and their underbelly is whitish in color. This shark is not a sleek looking shark like the bull shark. The Megamouth is actually more like a whale in appearance as it is heavy and full in appearance.

While it has teeth, these are not designed for chomping down on larger fish and mammals. Their teeth are small and not meant for tearing flesh.

Megamouth Shark Food Preference

The Megamouth’s primary food source is actually jellyfish, crustaceans and zooplancton. It has gill rakers that line its gills to filter the water for zooplancton. It has photophores above its mouth to attack jellyfish and crustaceans.

Megamouth Shark Reproduction

The Megamouth Shark reproduces the same way as other sharks. The eggs are fertilized inside the females body where the fetus grows. The gestation period for the megamouth is unknown but estimated to be 14 months. The young are given birth in shallow water.