Big Meg

At the age of 16, renowned Australian palaeontologist Tim Flannery made a discovery that would spark a lifelong passion. Along the bank of a creek in his home state of Victoria, he found the fossilised tooth of a megalodon, a giant shark that roamed our oceans millions of years ago. This remarkable find - the tooth was large enough to cover his palm - sparked an interest in palaeontology that was to inform his life's work and a lifelong quest to uncover the secrets of the world's largest ever predator, the great shark Otodus megalodon.

Tim passed on his love of the natural world and interest in the fossil record to his daughter, Emma, a scientist and writer. And now, together, they have written a fascinating account of this ancient marine creature.

Big Meg charts the evolution of the megalodon, its super-predator status for about 15 million years and its decline and extinction. It delves into the fossil record to answer questions about its behaviour and role in shaping marine ecosystems as well as its impact on the human psyche.