Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Sharks have always fascinated humans. They have their own week, their own UCLA Newsroom stories and their own multiple movie franchises, including the critically acclaimed “Jaws” and the comically deranged “Sharknado” series.
The queen mother of all sharks, of course, was the mighty megalodon, who stars in this week’s theatrical release of “The Meg 2: The Trench,” despite going extinct 3.6 million years ago. (Someone’s had work done.)
To celebrate the world’s favorite warm-blooded aquatic menace from the Pliocene Epoch, we reached out to De’Marcus Robinson, a UCLA doctoral candidate in atmospheric and oceanic sciences and founder of the nonprofit BehindTheSTEAHM. Although he currently researches microbial dynamics in the Santa Barbara Basin, he agreed to apply his expertise to creatures on a slightly larger scale, say 50 tons or so.
In the fourth installment of the UCLA College video series “Silly Questions, Smart Bruins,” Robinson imagines what he would do if he bumped into a megalodon while scuba diving, how their reemergence into the world would impact deep-sea science and their surprising connection to Megan Thee Stallion.
Credits:
"Mandibles the Megalodon" music by Roger A. Martinez (rogeramartinez.com)
"SQSB Theme" by What's Everybody Working On? Music Publishing
Music: Bensound
License code: 7ILUT79V0APSCHQP
Shark image: Oleksandr Sushko/Unsplash (edited)
Sharks have always fascinated humans. They have their own week, their own UCLA Newsroom stories and their own multiple movie franchises, including the critically acclaimed “Jaws” and the comically deranged “Sharknado” series.
The queen mother of all sharks, of course, was the mighty megalodon, who stars in this week’s theatrical release of “The Meg 2: The Trench,” despite going extinct 3.6 million years ago. (Someone’s had work done.)
To celebrate the world’s favorite warm-blooded aquatic menace from the Pliocene Epoch, we reached out to De’Marcus Robinson, a UCLA doctoral candidate in atmospheric and oceanic sciences and founder of the nonprofit BehindTheSTEAHM. Although he currently researches microbial dynamics in the Santa Barbara Basin, he agreed to apply his expertise to creatures on a slightly larger scale, say 50 tons or so.
In the fourth installment of the UCLA College video series “Silly Questions, Smart Bruins,” Robinson imagines what he would do if he bumped into a megalodon while scuba diving, how their reemergence into the world would impact deep-sea science and their surprising connection to Megan Thee Stallion.
Credits:
"Mandibles the Megalodon" music by Roger A. Martinez (rogeramartinez.com)
"SQSB Theme" by What's Everybody Working On? Music Publishing
Music: Bensound
License code: 7ILUT79V0APSCHQP
Shark image: Oleksandr Sushko/Unsplash (edited)
