The beast that “destroys” the super shark Megalodon is still alive

A study published in a scientific journal Nature Communications just revealed a hair-raising fact after studying fossil specimens from 2 species of Otodus megalodon and Carcharodon carcharia.

In the fierce seas of prehistoric times, Otodus megalodon, the famous Megalodon super shark, whose body length can be up to 18 m, was rivaled to extinction by the smaller but equally small Carcharodon carcharia. ferocious.

The world’s largest “Carcharodon carcharia” named Deep Blue, weighing 2.5 tons, over 6 meters long is swimming with oceanographer Mauricio Hoyos Padilla – Photo: REUTERS

According to Science Alert, they simply have occupied the same “ecological niche”: living in the same environment, hunting the same food.

This is revealed by the isotopic ratios of zinc in the teeth of both species, which a team led by geoscientist Jeremy McCormack from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Germany) has collected from 20 years. Carcharodon carcharia specimens from ancient to modern and 13 Megalodon specimens.

The change of zinc in the teeth of the two species over the generations tells the story of the life of the two populations during the Negene period – the geological period just before the Quaternary in which we live.

The lower the value of the zinc isotope ratio, the higher the nutritional status of the organism, the higher its position in the food chain. The two initial populations accounted for a similar average nutrient level, between 5.33 million and 2.58 million years ago, i.e. two ‘unmatched’ populations trying to take the top spot on the ocean food chain.

Carcharodon carcharia won, not so much because it was stronger, but perhaps because of its size and hunting style that gave it the advantage when complex ecological and environmental factors changed.

More terrifying, Carcharodon carcharia is still alive today. We call it with a more common name “Great White Shark” – “great white shark”. This creature with a body length of up to 6 m is the only extant species of the genus Carcharodon.

Humorous researchers: If you’re worried about this “monster” destroying this super shark Megalodon, make friends with an Orca. Orca is the killer whale, the “natural enemy” of the great white shark in modern times.