Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site (2024)

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Geocache Description:

Welcome to Shark Week!! Every year since 1988, the Discovery Channel has devoted a week each summer to sharks. What started as an attempt to educate the public that there was more to sharks than just what they saw in Jaws has since become a cultural phenomenon. InspectorCacheIt227 got into Shark Week about 4 years ago and we regularly record about 60 hours worth of shows each year on our DVR. Last year while watching Shark Week, EmmaBoo227 started to write the names of sharks on log sheets she created and stuck them in a handful of containers we had won at a raffle and the idea for a shark week series was born.

But where to hide a shark week series? In the ocean would be ideal, but not realistic. But we have a body of water nearby. And while the caches can’t really be hidden in the lake, we could make them all puzzles and hide the caches around the lake. So that’s what we did. We hope you enjoy learning a little about some sharks you have probably heard of and learning a little more about some sharks you have probably never heard of.

These hides are all placed around Folsom Lake. Care was taken to avoid poison oak as much as possible, but it is still out there. Also beware off all the other hazards of the lake including, but not limited to, ticks, snakes, other animals, heat and uneven footing.

Cache is located at N38 44.ABC, W121 07.DEF

Megalodon(Carcharocles megalodon), meaning "big tooth", is anextinctspeciesofsharkthat lived during theEarly Mioceneto thePliocene. It was formerly thought to be a member of thefamilyLamnidae, making it closely related to thegreat white shark(Carcharodon carcharias). However, presently there is near unanimousconsensusthat it belongs to the extinct familyOtodontidae, whichdivergedfrom the ancestry of the great white shark during theEarly Cretaceous. Its genus placement is still debated, authors placing it in eitherCarcharocles,Megaselachus,Otodus, orProcarcharodon.

Scientists suggest that megalodon looked like a stockier version of the great white shark, though some experts believe it may have looked similar to thebasking shark(Cetorhinus maximus) or thesand tiger shark(Carcharias taurus). Their large jaws could exert a bite force of up to 110,000 to 180,000 newtons (25,000 to 40,000lbf).Their teeth were thick and robust, built for grabbing prey and breaking bone.

Megalodon probably had a major impact on the structure ofmarine communities. The fossil record indicates that it had acosmopolitan distribution. It probably targeted large prey, such aswhales,seals, andsea turtles. Juveniles inhabited warm coastal waters and fed on fish and small whales. Unlike the great white, which attacks prey from the soft underside, megalodon probably used its strong jaws to break through the chest cavity and puncture the heart and lungs of its prey.

The animal faced competition from whale-eating cetaceans, such asLivyatanand othermacroraptorial sperm whales, and possibly smaller ancestral killer whales. As the shark preferred warmer waters, it is thought that oceanic cooling associated with the onset of theice ages, coupled with the lowering of sea levels and resulting loss of suitable nursery areas, may have also contributed to its decline. A reduction in the diversity ofbaleen whalesand a shift in their distribution toward polar regions may have reduced megalodon's primary food source. More recently, evidence has come forward that competition from the modern great white shark may have also contributed to the extinction of megalodon, coupled with range fragmentation resulting in a gradual, asynchronous extinction as a result of cooling oceans around 3.6-4 million years ago, far earlier than previously assumed.The extinction of the shark appeared to affect other animals; for example, the size of baleen whales increased significantly after the shark had disappeared.

A. In what year was the megalodon initially given its scientific name?

B. How many years ago did megalodon go extinct?

C. Since Megalodon has been extinct for millions of years and left very little fossil records (only teeth), what is the estimated maximum length of a megalodon in 2021 (feet)? +3

D. How fast do studies suggest a megalodon typically swam (mph)?

E. How long was the reconstruction of the megalodon that was first displayed in Calvert Marine Museum (feet)?

F. What is the maximum bite force of the megalodon (second digit, newtons)?

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Additional Hints (Decrypt)

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