15 million years ago like a movie jaw and Open water We fed swimmers the Heebie-Jeebies, a prehistoric shark species Otodus Megalodon We’ve reached a huge size. Researchers have reassessed how big a creative beast can now be. The result is fin.
To improve the estimation of megalodon size, an international team of biologists, paleontologists and anatomists analyzed partial megalodon fossils along with morphology of both existing and extinct shark species. From this data, they estimated that prehistoric sharks (sometimes called megatooth sharks) could have grown to their maximum size length (24 meters). Their studyIt’s published in the journal today Palaeontologia Electronicaalso provides potential insight into why certain shark species were able to achieve giantism, but other shark species remained baby sharks in comparison (Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo).
Based on a partial 36-fossilized megalodon vertebral column (spinus) previously excavated in Belgium, the team investigated how large the other body parts of the shark are. Leaded by DePaul University paleontologist Shimada Kaneken Island, they compared shark spines to the physical proportions of 145 living shark species and 20 extinct shark species.
As a result of this analysis, and their assumption that the body of megalodons is similar to most shark bodies, the researchers estimated that the 36-foot-long megalodons have a 6-foot-long head (1.8 meters long) and a 12-foot-long tail (3.6 meters). In total, the individual was a whopping 54 feet long (16.4 meters).
If you think it’s huge, you’re for surprise. The researchers applied these proportions to the supposed megalodon vertebrae discovered in Denmark. The team concluded that the Danish shark was 80 feet long (24.3 meters) and weighed 94 tons.
“Currently, the length of 24.3 meters is the largest reasonable estimate possible. O. Megalodon It can be justified based on science and current fossil records,” said Philip Sturnes, a research co-author and SeaWorld San Diego biologist, at DePaul University. statement.
But what did Megalodon look like? Since no complete skeleton has been discovered, scholars can study only prehistoric beasts by analyzing partial bodies and comparing them with other shark species. However, because its serrated teeth resemble the teeth of great white people, both the academia and the entertainment industry (and the feature images in this article) tended to portray extinct species as giant great white sharks.
However, new research has “consolidated that idea.” O. Megalodon It supported previous support rather than a huge version of the great modern white shark studyStarness explained.
“What distinguishes our research from all previous papers on body size and shape estimation O. Megalodon Jakewood, co-author and biologist at Florida Atlantic University, added:
In fact, the trees, the stern, and their colleagues theorized that the megalodon looked slimmer than the bulky, large white. Lemon shark. They then realized that today’s giant marine creatures, such as whale sharks, sharks, and whales, had slender, more hydrodynamic shapes. With this recognition, they hypothesized that bulky marine vertebrates such as great white sharks cannot grow to huge sizes (phew!) without changing their physical shape.
“Many interpretations we have made are still tentative, but they are data-driven and serve as a reasonable reference point for future research into the biology of O. MegalodonShimada concluded.
It is worth highlighting that without accessing the full megalodon skeleton, teams’ data-driven approaches require a significant amount of guessing and assumptions. Furthermore, the proportion of sharks’ bodies is dramatically different, so comparing them with each other does not lead to accurate conclusions. Finally, it is logical to assume that vertebral size correlates with body length, but that is not entirely true. It is still unknown whether future fossil discoveries will prove them correctly.
If we are grateful that we no longer need to share the ocean with megalodons, I am worried that there will be some bad news: this study also revealed that today’s great white sharks may be partially responsible for the extinction of megalodons five million years ago.
(Run away, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo…))
