Ideas For A Better Carcharocles Toy?

[suspsy]

As you know, Safari recently gave us this bad boy. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with it, but unless you were told it was a Carcharocles, you'd probably assume it was a modern great white shark.



So my question to all of you is: what are your ideas on creating a better Carcharocles toy? One that is unique and more recognizable as a prehistoric leviathan.

For myself, I'd go with a different colour scheme. Brown or bronze with spots or stripes. Fins more along the lines of a whale shark. Like this:



Discuss.

[Yutyrannus]

How about something similar to this?

[triceratops83]

I've seen restorations where it looks more similar to a grey nurse/sand tiger shark, which is a relative of the great white.

[suspsy]

I've seen restorations where it looks more similar to a grey nurse/sand tiger shark, which is a relative of the great white.

Yes, I remember seeing images of that a long time ago, but so far my Google searches have turned up nothing.

[SBell]

I've seen restorations where it looks more similar to a grey nurse/sand tiger shark, which is a relative of the great white.

The problem with that, is that it is related within the Lamniformes, which is pretty diverse and includes goblin, megamouths, threshers, basking and crocodile sharks, as well as sand tigers and mackerel sharks.

Which is a problem when trying to reconstruct a shark based solely on teeth--the order it is in has a huge diversity of morphology. The teeth are closest to Carcharodon, but the shape could be almost anything (probably not flat like an angel shark or eel-like like a cat shark though).

I have read,somewhere, that the though was that Carchharocles was probably very wide relative to it's length, so instead of simply scaling up the length of a great white, it was more like a scaling up of the volume. And yes, using a more distinct colour pattern might make it distinct--but blue-or-grey dorsal/white ventral is possibly the most common overall pattern for pelagic predators (sharks, fish or whales). Some variation in patterning is possible though.

[triceratops83]

I hate to bring up THAT book, but an albino glow in the dark version would be different at least.

[stargatedalek]

I seem to recall hearing/reading somewhere that megalodon was a coastal as opposed to a pelagic animal, so a brown colouration may not be so unrealistic even for such a large animal.

[brandem]

I wrote a post about what legs might have looked like, if I wasn't on my phone I'd link it, will edit this later to do so.

[Concavenator]

I guess no one has ever thought it would look similar to a thresher shark.Am I wrong? 

[stargatedalek]

Thresher sharks are highly specialized in terms of prey (and yes, the tail is related to this), so there really isn't much of a parallel between them and megalodon.

[suspsy]

A Carcharocles probably wasn't able to swim fast enough to evolve a thresher-style tail. That said, its tail could have resembled more a whale shark's. Stripes and spots aren't necessarily out of the question either. Tiger sharks have stripes and they're great hunters.

[SBell]

I guess no one has ever thought it would look similar to a thresher shark.Am I wrong? 

Since I posted, I have decided to picture Megalodon as have big, glowing lips with an extended rostrum, coming the best of Mitsukurina and Megachasma.

Until fossils are found indicating otherwise, it will be the dumbest vision ever for a big shark! 

[Meso-Cenozoic]

I've always wanted a heftier, dark charcoal grey great white with a big mouth and nicely sculpted teeth. If it's anything like its prototype pic, I think the new 2015 CollectA, listed as: Great White Shark (Open Jaw), just might fit my bill. It would at least be closer to the image I've always had and wanted than most anything else in the toy lines I've seen through the years.



You can always add your own patterns/color changes if you'd like. But I think the sculpt looks really nice. My only real worry is that the teeth on the mass-produced figure will be as nice as on this prototype.

[Megalosaurus]

This is a interesting alternative:

[stargatedalek]

I like the patterns, but the scenario isn't particularly plausible, only confirmed meg attack was on a whale estimated 23 feet in length, hardly the humpback sized creatures its so often depicted attacking.

[SBell]

Perhaps a two-part figure, with an appropriate marine mammal. Odobonocetops would be a unique choice.

At least then, the scale would be apparent, giving the Meg a better feel for size.

[suspsy]

I don't think it's out of the range of possibility that Carcharocles and Livyataan occasionally clashed. Although assuming the latter lived in pods like modern whales, such encounters may have gone badly for the shark.

[stargatedalek]

I doubt megalodon would have ever targeted something so large, but it probably found itself on the defensive at times. If modern sharks are anything to go off of though I doubt meg would do well against a cetacean any more than half its size.

[DeadToothCrackKnuckle]

I think it would be good if it was a little more FIERCE. Know what I mean. Get that FLAVOR. Make it FLAVORFUL. There it is.

[SBell]

I think it would be good if it was a little more FIERCE. Know what I mean. Get that FLAVOR. Make it FLAVORFUL. There it is.

Now that is some useful suggestions for making a figure.