This element gave rise to the centrum in amniotes ... greatly improving flexibility and rotation of skull with vertebral column. With the exploitation of terrestrial habitats, the weight of the body ...

Scientists from the University of Oklahoma calculated the body length of the shark from the diameter of the centrum of each vertebra, reporting their findings in PLOS One magazine in June 2015.

Misaligned vertebrae can pinch the nerves or spinal cord, which can have painful and debilitating consequences. Anterolisthesis can also affect other parts of the body, such as the arms or the legs.

"The previously published reconstruction of Megalodon skeleton and body shape looked ... in the growth of the centrum — the solid, central part of the vertebrae. In living Lamniform sharks ...