Illustration of enigmatic Megalodon body shape. Credit: AI-generated, DALL-E 3.
The Megalodon, an ancient shark that dominated the oceans countless years ago, has actually often been represented as a monstrous, oversized fantastic white shark. This image, perpetuated by popular movies like “The Meg,” has actually been ingrained in the general public awareness. However, a brand-new study is turning this understanding on its head.
Megalodon wasnt a scaled-up variation of the excellent white
Phillip Sternes, co-lead author and a Ph.D. prospect at the University of California, Riverside, added that “the brand-new study highly recommends that the body type of O. megalodon was not simply a larger version of the modern-day fantastic white shark.”
Credit: DePaul University/Kenshu Shimada.
What could represent such a large discrepancy? The response was hiding in plain sight, according to Professor Kenshu Shimada, a paleobiologist at DePaul University in Chicago and senior author of the research study.
While it is still real that it was a colossal shark, new evidence emerging from a meticulous analysis of fossil vertebrae compared to those of excellent white suggests that O. megalodon had a more extended, slender kind, compared to its modern-day cousin.
” While the previous research studies were stuck with the idea that Megalodon should have actually looked like the modern-day excellent white shark, our brand-new study highlights the disparity in size quotes and emphasizes the empirical fossil proof– the fact that the Megalodon person might not have actually measured less than 11.1 meters where that measurement does not even represent the head and tail lengths. Therefore, our general conclusion is that Megalodon should have had a slim body compared to the body percentage seen in the modern fantastic white shark,” Shimada told ZME Science.
Formally referred to as Otodus megalodon, this prehistoric giant lived roughly 15 to 3.6 million years ago, living in almost every ocean. Popular science has long depicted it as a hulking monster, extending 50 to 65 feet. This makes it the largest fish ever understood.
UC Riverside biologist and co-first author Phillip Sternes holding a Megalodon tooth. Credit: Douglas Long/California Academy of Sciences.
Over two lots shark experts from nearly 30 scholastic research organizations collaborated for this newest research study, which took a fresh look at the insufficient set of fossil vertebrae unearthed in Belgium. A previous assessment recommended that the specimen determined more than 11 meters (36 feet), head and tail not included. Nevertheless, another study that considered the same percentages of modern-day terrific white sharks reported that the very same specimen was just 9.2 meters (30 feet) in length, this time including the length of the head and tail.
Still a great deal of we dont understand about Megalodon
The Megalodon, an ancient shark that dominated the oceans millions of years ago, has actually typically been portrayed as a monstrous, large terrific white shark. The word megalodon just suggests large tooth.
The bottom line is that there are many things we do not understand yet about Megalodon, despite what you may have heard or seen in movies and popular science documentaries. No, Megalodon isnt alive, folks. Shimada isnt distressed by these deceptive representations of this formidable ancient marine predator. Films like Meg typically serve as inspiration for his new studies.
Reassessing big sharks.
In spite of these discoveries, the precise body form of Megalodon remains evasive. The quest to totally understand this ancient giant continues. “The reality is that we require the discovery of a minimum of one complete Megalodon skeleton to analyze its general body type,” Shimada concludes.
” I do personally take pleasure in watching those Sci-Fi motion pictures as pure home entertainment, and they have actually promoted my scientific curiosity, causing my series of recent research studies, such as Was Megalodon that large?, Was Megalodon able to swim that quick?, and the concern dealt with in the most recent research study Was Megalodon really like a large variation of the modern excellent white shark?
It was constantly tempting to design Megalodon on living contemporary types like the excellent white, however this was just wishful thinking. “Our study recommends that we need to think outside the box when it concerns presuming the biology of Megalodon,” Shimada informed me in an e-mail.
With a jaw spanning as much as 2.7 by 3.4 meters and lined with 276 teeth, it could quickly swallow up huge animals. This sharks approximated bite force dwarfs that of fantastic white sharks and positions it amongst the most formidable predators in Earths history.
Despite these discoveries, the precise body form of Megalodon remains elusive. “The truth is that we require the discovery of at least one complete Megalodon skeleton to analyze its basic body type,” Shimada concludes.
The new study appeared in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica.
While megalodon teeth are fairly common fossils, due to sharks continuously shedding and changing teeth throughout their lives, other parts of their anatomy are hardly ever discovered in the fossil record. This is why the Megalodon vertebrae from Belgium are so essential, exposing deep insights into the anatomy of this powerful ancient predator.
The megalodons enormous, serrated teeth clearly suggest a meat-based diet, mainly consisting of whales, large fish, and even other sharks This is more supported by fossilized whale bones, scarred with the apparent marks of megalodon teeth, revealing a predator that required significant victim to satisfy its enormous cravings.
Shark skeletons are made mostly of cartilage, which dont fossilize. This means that almost everything we understand about Megalodon and other ancient shark types comes from their fossilized teeth and only a handful of vertebrae. Thankfully, researchers can infer a lot of info simply by looking at these teeth, which can reach an incredible 18 centimeters (7 inches) in length. The word megalodon merely implies big tooth.
The slim body type suggests that Megalodon may not have actually been as powerful a swimmer as the terrific white. “Megalodon was likely a sluggish cruiser,” Shimada notes, referencing one of his formerly published studies on Megalodons fossilized scales, “with occasional burst swimming for recording victim.”
, and the concern resolved in the latest research study Was Megalodon truly like a big version of the modern terrific white shark?