Discovery Channel kicked off Shark Week on Sunday with a fake documentary about the Great White shark's prehistoric ancestor, megalodon.
Megalodons did at exist at one point. But the powerful ocean predator went extinct 2 million years ago.
The "documentary"— with fictional scripts and phony research — asks us to consider the possibility that megalodon is still roaming the oceans and toppling fishing boats. It upset many Discovery Channel viewers who were briefly convinced that megalodon is terrorizing humans today.
The ancient shark is long gone; however, the 50-ton beast could do some serious damage when it ruled the prehistoric seas.
Last year, the Shark Week team built a full-size model of megalodon, to see if it could hunt and kill giant whales.
You can see video on the Shark Week website.
At more than 60 feet long, megalodon — (literally "big tooth") — was the top predator in the ocean up until they went extinct two million years ago.
Watch Clip On Discovery Channel »
They were much larger than Tyrannosaurus rex. Megalodons weighed up to 100 tons, while T-rex weighed a puny 9 tons.
Watch Clip On Discovery Channel »
In fact, a T-rex would have been a quick snack for megalodon. Its head would have easily fit inside the gargantuan shark's mouth.
Watch Clip On Discovery Channel »
See the rest of the story at Business Insider