Megalodon may have been up to 80 feet long, but the colossal extinct shark was also probably thinner than scientists previously thought, according to a new study.

Researchers had based some informed guesses about just how massive the megalodon - a prehistoric giant fish that hunted the oceans 13 million years to 15 million years ago - was by comparing existing fossils of the extinct species to bones of the present-day great white shark.

Few prehistoric monsters capture the imagination quite like the megalodon. From natural history museums to the silver screen, this colossal shark, which went extinct over three million years ago, has been depicted as one of the most terrifying and ferocious creatures to ever roam the planet.