Germany: New Shark Model at Dinosaurier-Park Münchenhagen

Germany´s Dinosaurier-Park Münchenhagen has recently added a new shark model to its existing collection of dinosaur replicas. The 13.9 meter long and around 1.5 tons heavy model represents the “Carcharocles megalodon”, the largest prehistoric shark known until to date. Ten million years ago, the animal, which with a 2.5 meter wide mouth and a bite-force of 18 tons could grow up to a length of 18 meters, inhabited the world´s oceans.

The project began in January this year in cooperation with Wolter Design. On the basis of fossils and analogies to today´s relatives of the megalodon, e.g. the great white shark, the designers were able to create a digital model, which was transformed into a styrofoam figure and covered with fibers of synthetic resin. Thereafter, physical details and the skin structure of the erstwhile “King of the sea” were added to the life-size model. (eap)