Combining advanced digital modeling with the analysis of rare, unique fossils, scientists have for the first time pieced together a 3D reconstruction of the megalodon, the largest shark ever created, according to New Atlas. From this new 3D model, the scientists were able to gain fascinating new insights into the behavior of this terrifying prehistoric predator, including its diet, which includes whales rich in blubber, which can reach 8 meters (26 feet) in length.
Fortunately for surfers and ocean swimmers, megalodon sharks became extinct 3 million years ago. Much of what is known about this terrible creature comes from the study of its huge teeth, each about the size of a person's palm. Like today's sharks, its skeleton is made of cartilage, which unfortunately often doesn't hold up well in marine environments.
Jack Cooper, lead author of the new study and a phD student at Swansea University, said: "Shark teeth are common fossils because their hard composition allows them to remain well preserved. However, their skeletons are made of cartilage, so they rarely become fossils. ”
Researchers have been able to elucidate the megalodon's lifestyle and body morphology by isotopic analysis of their teeth, for example by analyzing their close relatives to gain an understanding of their size. Cooper and his co-authors have been able to amplify these efforts by studying a rare fossil spine belonging to a megalodon shark that died off the coast of Belgium about 18 million years ago.
The scientists measured and scanned each vertebra and reconstructed the entire spine, then combined it with a three-dimensional scan of a group of megalodon teeth. As a result, the team was able to use advanced 3D modeling and scans of the great white shark to construct the flesh around the skeleton, completing a 3D model known as the first megalodon.
"Weight is one of the most important characteristics of any animal," said co-author John Hutchinson, a professor at the Royal Veterinary College. "For extinct animals, we can estimate body mass using modern 3D digital modeling methods and then establish relationships between mass and other biological properties, such as speed and energy use."
The reconstructed megalodon shark is 16 meters (52 feet) long, weighs more than 61 tons, and moves through the water at a speed of 1.4 meters per second. Sharks have a stomach capacity of almost 10,000 liters and require about 98,000 kcal of food per day. Scientists say smaller prey with a size of 3 to 6 meters (10 to 20 feet) can be eaten in just a few bites, while larger prey with a size of about 8 meters, the same size as modern killer whales, can be eaten in about 5 bites.
Based on models of foraging and energy use, scientists say megalodons make a living from calorie-rich whale fats. The best model of a prey encounter found that eating an 8-meter-long whale would allow megalodons to sail thousands of miles at sea and not need to eat again until two months later.
"These results suggest that this giant shark is a kind of transoceanic super predator," said Catalina Pimiento, a professor at the University of Zurich and senior author of the study. "The extinction of this iconic giant shark is likely to have affected the global transport of nutrients and freed large cetaceans from powerful predatory pressures."
Scientists see this as a leap forward in our understanding of the way megalodons and megafauna shape marine ecosystems. This new understanding of its physical characteristics and behavior could also guide future reconstruction efforts and research into this menacing ancient predator.
The study was published in the journal Science Advances.