Megalodon, neoogeno terror, has been dominated by its giant shark niche for just 20 million years before it disappeared from the world’s ocean.
And in the meantime, he hunted anything and everything that crossed his way. It did not distinguish: if it were big enough to be a snack, megalodone (Waiting for Megalodon) “Partook”.
Scientists have reached this conclusion that have examined the teeth of modern sharks and compared them to the infestaty megalodone teeth, almost everything we have left from the extinct fish today.
This contradicts the theory that the main prey of Megalodon was whales. Of course, Megalodon was able and eaten whales, but his entire diet was much more opportunistic.
“Our study tends to pay attention to the image of Megalodone as an organic universal generalist,” says geomoxy Jeremy McCormack from Frankfurt Goethe University in Germany. “Megalodon was flexible enough to feed on marine mammals and large fish, from the top of the food pyramid – as well as at the lower level – according to marine mammals and large fish, from the top of the food pyramid – as well as lower levels –
Megalodon teeth (left) compared to white shark teeth (right). (Mark Costich/Altock/Getty Images Plus)
Megalodon is an extinct shark species that has lived from about 23 million to about 3.6 million years, and during that time it took the most important place at the top of the food network, before the disappearance has been avoided. We never know what it looked like; Like all sharks, its skeleton was mostly cartilage, and all she left was a lot of teeth and a few vertebrae.
Of these residues, we know that megalodon was enormous – the size rates ranged from about 11 meters to more than 40 meters (36 to 131 feet) (although the latter is outside and most estimates range from about 13 to 20 meters). This is huge – so huge that scientists believe that megalodone could specialize in a large prey.
One way to determine the diet of a deceased person is to look at the isotopus. The isotope of the element is an atom that deviates from the norm in the number of neutrons it has in its nucleus, and these areotopes vary depending on several factors, one of which is a diet.
This is because when we eat, some of our food metals replace some calcium teeth and bones – not because you notice, but enough to leave the cursor. McCormack and his colleagues specifically looked at the ratio of two zinc isotopes-a more zinc-64 and heavier zinc-66.
When fish at the bottom of the food we eat, they accumulate less zinc-66 than zinc-64. Fish eating that fish have even less zinc-66. So, when you get into the fish at the very top of the chain, you see the least zinc-66 compared to zinc-64. This researchers noted the teeth of Megalodon and his cousin, disappearing Waiting for Chubutennsis;
Researchers really do not know what was at the bottom of the food chain 18 million years ago, since they have been examining Megalodon’s teeth. So they compared megalodon teeth to the teeth of sharks that swim in the oceans today to find out what giant predators eat.
“Sea swords feeding on mussels, snails and crustaceans formed the lowest level of the food chain we studied,” says McCormack.
“Smaller species of sharks such as Requiem sharks and today’s cetaceans, dolphins and whale ancestors. Aralosalayus cuspidates and Otodus Sharks, including megalodone. “
Previously, Megalodon, as a superpredator, was determined at the very top of the food web. New studies reveal that the difference between the isotopes between megalodone and animals at the lowest level, which the puree puree was not a sharp definition, indicating that the shark was not a gloomy eater.
There were also intriguing differences in the megalodone diet, depending on where the animals lived. Researchers found that Megalodon’s teeth found in Passau, Germany, had a more lunch at the lower level of the food network.
This is no different from the opportunistic attitude of hunting, demonstrated by white sharks (Carcharius Carcharodon), which is the mind: The previous work led by McCormack showed that the raise of white shark was probably one of the drivers who encouraged megalodon to disappear. Competition in its ecological niche, Megalodon became more vulnerable.
“It gives us important insights on how maritime communities have changed during the geological time,” says Paleobiologist Kenshu Shimada of the US Depaul University – but more importantly, even “supercarnors” are not protected from extinction. “
The investigation has been published Land and Planetic science letters;