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Megalodons, the large prehistoric sharks depicted in motion pictures comparable to “The Meg,” had extra slender our bodies than was beforehand thought, in response to a new study.
Many mysteries stay concerning the biology of megalodons, however till now, nice white sharks had been used to mannequin their look. However new analysis from a workforce led by Kenshu Shimada, a paleobiologist at DePaul College in Chicago, and Phillip Sternes, a doctoral candidate on the College of California at Riverside, suggests megalodons would have had skinnier our bodies than nice whites.
The Otodus megalodon lived greater than 23 million years in the past. Fossils of the extinct large are exhausting to return by. Whereas there are many fossilized shark enamel, their our bodies primarily encompass cartilage somewhat than bones, and are not often preserved.
This new analysis is predicated on the reappraisal of an incomplete set of fossil vertebrae present in Belgium.
Whereas earlier analysis estimated that this specific megalodon would have measured 9.2 meters (30.2 ft) in size, Shimada and his coauthors say the person would have actually measured at the very least 11.1 meters (36.4 ft).
Shimada informed CNN that the fossil vertebrae wouldn’t have been sturdy sufficient to help a shark of this size if it had the identical physique form as an important white.
“If the physique type of the nice white shark is straight utilized to the vertebral column, the diameter of the vertebrae would then be unrealistically small for the shark to have the ability to help its physique,” he mentioned.
Shimada defined {that a} vertebral column of this diameter wouldn’t present ample help for the muscle tissues of a physique form like that of an important white, and would additionally improve the danger of spinal twine accidents.
“That is significantly vital contemplating that shark skeletons will not be as sturdy as bones as a result of they’re cartilaginous (manufactured from cartilage),” he added.
He did word, nonetheless, that some shark species, together with megalodon, exhibit some strengthening of this cartilage by way of calcification, or a build-up of calcium that may then harden.
“The brand new examine considers the dimensions proportion between the vertebrae and physique in a extra biologically lifelike method, which might point out a leaner physique at the very least in comparison with the fashionable nice white shark,” he mentioned.
The analysis means that “the fashionable nice white shark might not essentially function an excellent trendy analog for assessing at the very least sure facets” of megalodon biology, mentioned Shimada.
“There are nonetheless many misconceptions or unanswered questions concerning the biology of megalodon, and we want to proceed to scientifically appropriate or elucidate them primarily based on the fossil file,” he mentioned.
As issues stand, there’s solely a partial fossil file for the megalodon, and Shimada hopes an entire skeleton will likely be found sometime.
The examine was printed Sunday within the journal Palaeontologia Electronica.
Earlier analysis printed in August 2022 estimated the megalodon would have been in a position to devour prey the dimensions of orca whales – which might be as much as 26 ft lengthy and weigh greater than 8,000 kilos – in simply 5 bites.
The megalodon went extinct round 3.6 million years in the past, in response to the UK’s Pure Historical past Museum, for causes scientists are nonetheless making an attempt to grasp.
One principle is that their demise was linked to the truth that they had been warm-blooded.
Earlier analysis by Shimada and others concluded that being warm-blooded might have been one of many key drivers fueling megalodons’ huge dimension and total prowess as predators, however it additionally made them delicate to environmental adjustments.
“The truth that megalodon disappeared suggests the doubtless vulnerability of being warm-blooded as a result of warm-bloodedness requires fixed meals consumption to maintain excessive metabolism,” Shimada informed CNN in July final yr.
“Probably, there was a shift within the marine ecosystem as a result of climatic cooling,” inflicting the ocean stage to drop, altering the habitats of the populations of the sorts of meals megalodon ate up comparable to marine mammals and resulting in its extinction.