![]() ![]() ![]() Being the much smaller of the two, they likely needed less food to maintain their metabolism. They were a primary food source for both sharks.īut the great whites stuck around when O. That led to a sharp drop in the numbers of marine mammals. The climate changed during the Pliocene Epoch, which spanned 5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago. megalodon to extinction, especially when food became scarcer. Some scientists suspect this competition helped drive O. They competed for food with their massive cousins. Great white sharks emerged late in megalodon’s reign, roughly 3.5 million years ago. It went extinct sometime between 3.5 million and 2.6 million years ago. megalodon evolved around 23 million years ago. His team wondered how the megashark’s internal temps compared to one of its major competitors: the great white shark. The question, Eagle says, isn’t really whether O. That suggests it had some control over its body temperature. The shark also was known to hunt in both colder and warmer waters. Estimates of this beast’s body shape, swimming speeds and energy needs point to some warm-bloodedness. Scientists have long thought megalodon was regionally warm-blooded, Eagle says. Gentler giants, such as whale sharks, use this strategy when they gulp lots of water and eat the tiny creatures within. Filter feeding offers another path to getting large, Cooper points out. A paleobiologist, he studies ancient life at Swansea University in Wales. Jacking up the temperatures of some body parts is one way some sharks evolved to be giant, says Jack Cooper. Many modern sharks belonging to the group that includes great white sharks have this ability. This is known as regional warm-bloodedness. They can keep some body parts warmer than the surrounding water. Some families of fish, both living and extinct, can do something similar. This trait is called endothermy or warm-bloodedness. Mammals can boost their metabolisms and maintain their body heat, even in colder environments. megalodon - and its living and extinct kin - to learn about the animals’ metabolisms. Eagle was part of a team that studied fossils of O. Massive sharks may have been particularly vulnerable to extinction when food became scarce, he says. A marine biogeochemist, he studies the chemistry of ocean ecosystems. Gigantic bodies require a lot of food to power their metabolisms, notes Robert Eagle. But the shark’s voracious appetite also may have spelled the species’ doom.Ī creature’s metabolism is the set of chemical reactions needed to sustain life. That makes it one of Earth’s biggest carnivores ever. megalodon grew up to 20 meters (66 feet) long. Those are hunters at the top of the food chain. The trait may have helped megalodons become swift, fearsome apex predators. That warm-bloodedness may have been a double-edged sword. ![]() Analyses of carbon and oxygen in the teeth revealed that the giant shark’s body temperature was about 7 degrees Celsius (13 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than seawater temperatures at the time. megalodon teeth suggest the sharks had higher body temperatures than surrounding waters. It now appears that their rise (and fall) may have been tied to their warm-bloodedness.Ĭhemical measurements on fossil O. Massive Otodus megalodon sharks - the ocean’s largest meat-eaters ever - ran hot. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |