What If Megalodon Hadn't Gone Extinct？

In the distant past, our planet was home to incredibly massive creatures.
For instance, dinosaurs.
Or the Megalodon, the largest shark ever to have existed.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the Megalodon has long been extinct.
Now, imagine if they had survived to the present day, what would the world be like?
What we understand about the Megalodon
First and foremost, let's take a moment to briefly recap what we know about the Megalodon in today's scientific realm.
Now, the Megalodon was a creature related to contemporary great white sharks or mako sharks.
It's also plausible that the Megalodon's smaller descendants could be the great white sharks.
The Megalodon inhabited nearly every part of the Earth except for the polar regions.
Notably, bones have been discovered in places like Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, Bangladesh, Cuba, the UK, the US (California), Chile, as well as in current Central and Eastern European regions like the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and Poland.
The oldest recorded Megalodon tooth was found in Europe.
It's quite remarkable to contemplate that locations now comprising land were once submerged millions of years ago, especially during a time when medieval society had no understanding of fossils.
Thus, it's unsurprising that nobody envisioned these peculiar stone formations, resembling teeth, as remnants of fish.
These stones were known as "glossopetrae," or in simpler terms, "tongues made of stone," and they were thought to be the petrified tongues of mythical beings such as dragons or trolls.
Let's also bear in mind that while the geographical layout of the Earth during the Megalodon era bore some similarities to the present, there were indeed distinctions.
Specifically, Europe comprised islands akin to the current Arctic archipelagos.
Hence, it's natural to question the discovery of Megalodon fossils in nations lacking contemporary coastlines.
It appears that Megalodons preferred shallow waters adjacent to coastlines, warm lagoons, and coastal regions.
However, they were not averse to venturing into deeper waters.
These creatures were merciless predators, targeting fish, dolphins, and even various species of whales, including sizable ones.
Megalodons employed their massive bodies to ram into prey and deploy their teeth to penetrate deeply into the chests or backs of their victims.
Indeed, although whale chests and backs are typically the most resilient areas, Megalodon teeth were more than capable of overcoming skeletal defenses.
Considering that Megalodon jaws spanned approximately 2 meters and were adorned with a total of 276 teeth arranged in five rows, the evidence is compelling.
To the best of humanity's knowledge, the Megalodon stands as the largest fish in Earth's history.
Their length could exceed 15 meters, and while various calculations exist, their weight was estimated to range from 45 to 50 tons.
The Perilous Seas
In reality, much like many other species, the Megalodon met its demise due to shifts in natural conditions.
The era in which the Megalodon thrived was sufficiently long, lasting approximately 20 million years.
During that time, the seas teemed with slow-moving, highly primitive mammals, yet there were no large whales akin to today's orcas.
Approximately 3.5 million years ago, with the emergence of numerous whale species, the Megalodon lost out in the competition for prey and vanished from the stage of evolution.
But what if those changes hadn't occurred?
Let's take a moment to imagine what would have transpired if orcas hadn't displaced the monster shark from its ecological niche as the apex predator of the seas.
It's plausible that both could have coexisted, or perhaps large whales might never have appeared at all.
How might the creatures have adapted?
Firstly, the seas would have been considerably more perilous.
As previously mentioned, Megalodons inhabited regions spanning from the tropics to temperate zones.
While primarily dwelling in the open ocean, they seem to have ventured into relatively small seas as well.
Contrary to the commonly depicted image, sharks do not particularly target humans.
In fact, there are very few animals that specifically prey on humans.
The reason they may attack humans is often a case of mistaken identity with the various fish and marine mammals they typically feed on.
Sharks are curious creatures and may "test" unfamiliar objects out of pure curiosity.
However, for the person caught in their jaws, it's hardly a trivial matter.
Nevertheless, the idea of taking a swim in the ocean would have been fraught with danger.
Unlike modern sharks, Megalodons were plentiful and, furthermore, larger and more aggressive.
Certainly, over time, various methods of protection, such as "Megalodon repellents," would have been invented, but that likely wouldn't have occurred until the past two or three centuries.
Additionally, Megalodons may have attacked fishing boats or even relatively large vessels.