For years, the megalodon has been imagined as a monstrous version of the great white shark. Depictions in movies and documentaries show a stocky, torpedo-shaped predator, built for speed and power.

The now-extinct megalodon shark may have been larger than first believed, reaching lengths of 80 feet (24.3 meters), according to a new study published in Palaeontologia Electronica last week.

A new study proposes that the massive ancient shark was built more slenderly than ... That would mean the largest megalodons may have been nearly the size of a blue whale.