Gigantic prehistoric shark was warm-blooded – 06/27/2023 – Science
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The megalodon, a massive shark that inhabited the ancient oceans and is a star in modern movies, was named for its “big tooth”—and for good reason. Its serrated teeth, up to 18 cm long, could tear apart any prey in the deep blue sea.
These teeth are now providing a more complete understanding of this extinct predator, with an analysis of the mineral composition of its enamel-like tissue confirming that the megalodon was warm-blooded — a trait that scientists suspect contributed to its tremendous success and eventual downfall.
The researchers estimated that the megalodon, which reached at least 15 meters and possibly 20 meters in length, boasted an overall average body temperature of around 27 degrees Celsius and could maintain it at about 7 degrees above the temperature of the water around it. while hunting marine mammals including whales.
This may have made the megalodon a more dynamic predator, a strong swimmer capable of energy-efficiently digesting food and, more importantly, tolerating colder waters, allowing it to extend its range to almost everyone.
Most fish are cold-blooded (ectothermic), with body temperatures the same as the surrounding water. Some, however, are warm-blooded (endothermic) and generate their own body heat. Examples include certain sharks, including the great white shark, the largest modern shark.
“The only comparable species alive today in terms of diet and body temperature are the great white shark and, to a lesser extent, the mako shark. Although, as shown in our study, megalodon was slightly warmer than these two modern superpredators, which makes the megalodon unique,” said geochemist and paleoclimatologist Michael Griffiths of William Paterson University in New Jersey, lead author of the research published in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).
The megalodon, perhaps the biggest shark of all time, appeared about 23 million years ago and disappeared about 3.6 million years ago amid declining ocean temperatures and sea levels.
Warm blood may have been useful to megalodon in cold waters.
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