According to their outcomes, the megalodon might completely take in prey the size of todays killer whales and then roam the seas without more food for two months.
These outcomes suggest that the megalodon could take a trip long ranges and was capable of consuming entire prey up to 8 meters (26 feet) long. An ability to eat big apex predators of similar size millions of years ago places megalodon at a greater trophic level than modern-day leading predators.
The research study was only possible due to the 3D modeling of one individual megalodon which was discovered in the 1860s. Next, they connected the column to a 3D scan of a megalodons dentition from the United States.
” Shark teeth are common fossils since of their difficult structure which allows them to remain well maintained,” states first author Jack Cooper, PhD trainee at Swansea University. “However, their skeletons are made from cartilage, so they hardly ever fossilize. The megalodon vertebral column from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences is, therefore, an one-of-a-kind fossil.”
From single vertebra to whole body mass
The research group, which consists of researchers from Switzerland, the UK, the United States, Australia, and South Africa, first measured and scanned every single vertebra, prior to rebuilding the entire column. Next, they attached the column to a 3D scan of a megalodons dentition from the United States. Lastly, they finished the design by adding “flesh” around the skeleton utilizing a 3D scan of the body of a great white shark from South Africa.
” Weight is among the most essential traits of any animal. For extinct animals we can estimate the body mass with modern-day 3D digital modeling techniques and then develop the relationship between mass and other biological properties such as speed and energy usage,” states co-author John Hutchinson, teacher at the Royal Veterinary College in the UK.
A trans-oceanic super-apex predator
The high energetic demand would have been fulfilled by eating the calorie-rich blubber of whales, in which megalodon bite marks have formerly been discovered in the fossil record. An optimum foraging model of prospective megalodon victim encounters discovered that eating a single 8-meter-long (26-foot-long) whale might have enabled the shark to swim countless miles throughout oceans without consuming again for two months.
” These results suggest that this huge shark was a trans-oceanic super-apex predator,” says Catalina Pimiento, Professor at the University of Zurich and senior author of the research study. “The extinction of this renowned giant shark likely impacted worldwide nutrient transport and released large cetaceans from a strong predatory pressure.”
The complete 3D design can now be utilized as a basis for future restorations and further research. The unique biological inferences drawn from this research represent a leap in our understanding of this singular very predator. The research study helps to better comprehend the eco-friendly function that megafaunal types play in marine communities and the large-scale effects of their termination.
Referral: “The extinct shark Otodus megalodon was a transoceanic superpredator: Inferences from 3D modeling” by Jack A. Cooper, John R. Hutchinson, David C. Bernvi, Geremy Cliff, Rory P. Wilson, Matt L. Dicken, Jan Menzel, Stephen Wroe, Jeanette Pirlo and Catalina Pimiento, 17 August 2022, Science Advances.DOI: 10.1126/ sciadv.abm9424.
New 3D model shows that megalodon could consume prey the size of entire killer whales. Credit: J. J. Giraldo
Megalodon, the biggest shark that ever lived, is popular for its gigantic, human-hand-sized teeth. According to their outcomes, the megalodon could fully take in prey the size of todays killer whales and then roam the seas without more food for two months.
The reconstructed megadolon (Otodus megalodon) was 16 meters (52 feet) long and weighed over 61 heaps. It was approximated that it could swim at around 1.4 meters per second (3.1 mph), needed over 98,000 kilo calories every day, and had a stomach volume of practically 10,000 liters. These results suggest that the megalodon could take a trip cross countries and can eating whole prey as much as 8 meters (26 feet) long. Notably, this is the size of modern-day killer whales, todays top ocean predator. An ability to consume large peak predators of comparable size countless years ago places megalodon at a greater trophic level than modern top predators.
The reconstructed megadolon (Otodus megalodon) was 16 meters long and weighed over 61 tons. It was approximated that it could swim at around 1.4 meters per second. Credit: J. J. Giraldo
Unspoiled spinal column makes it possible for reconstruction
These are the findings of an international study performed in partnership with the University of Zurich and published on August 17 in Science Advances. The research study was just possible due to the 3D modeling of one specific megalodon which was found in the 1860s. Versus all odds, a considerable portion of its vertebral column was left behind in the fossil record after the animal passed away in the Miocene oceans of Belgium about 18 million years back. It is approximated that it was 46 years of ages when it died.
” These outcomes suggest that this giant shark was a trans-oceanic super-apex predator.”– Catalina Pimiento
