UNITED STATES: In a fresh study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have presented compelling evidence indicating that the ancient Megalodon shark was warm-blooded, challenging previous assumptions about the extinct giant’s physiology.
The William Paterson University environmental science professors Michael Griffiths and Martin Becker’s study sheds new light on the biology of this enormous prehistoric predator.
The Megalodon, also known as the megatooth shark, roamed the world’s oceans from 23 million to 3.6 million years ago and boasted an astonishing length of approximately 50 feet. While earlier studies had proposed the possibility of the Megalodon being warm-blooded, this research marks the first time empirical evidence has been presented to support this hypothesis.
The research team, comprising scientists from various institutions, including DePaul University, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of California at Merced, employed innovative geochemical techniques to examine Megalodon’s body temperature. The “Megalodon Endothermy Hypothesis” was put to the test by scientists using phosphate oxygen isotope thermometry and clumped isotope thermometry to examine fossilized teeth.
Clumped isotope thermometry is based on the idea that heavier isotopes of some elements, like carbon-13 and oxygen-18, bond together more easily at certain temperatures when minerals form. This bonding pattern, or “clumping,” provides insight into the temperature at which the mineralization occurred.
Similarly, phosphate oxygen isotope thermometry utilizes the ratio of stable oxygen isotopes in phosphate minerals to determine the temperature of the body water from which they originated.
The study finds that Megalodon kept its body temperature much higher than cold-blooded or ectothermic sharks do. This finding suggests that Megalodon possessed a certain degree of internal heat production, similar to modern warm-blooded animals. Comparisons with present-day sharks exhibiting regional endothermy, such as the mako and great white sharks, indicated that the Megalodon had an average body temperature of approximately 27 °C.
The implications of this research extend beyond understanding the biology of the Megalodon itself. The ability of the ancient shark to regulate its body temperature is believed to have played a pivotal role in its gigantism—an evolutionary trait that evolved alongside warm-bloodedness. However, the high metabolic demands associated with maintaining warm-bloodedness may have also contributed to the species’ eventual extinction.
Given the timing of Megalodon’s extinction, which coincided with significant climate and sea-level changes, the study underscores the vulnerability of large marine apex predators like the great white shark to stressors such as climate change. The researchers emphasize the importance of conservation efforts aimed at safeguarding modern shark species, recognizing their ecological significance and susceptibility to environmental shifts.
The study’s findings were made possible through the support of the National Science Foundation, which funded the research team’s work in sedimentary geology and paleobiology. Additional support came from an American Chemical Society Award and a Petroleum Research Fund Undergraduate New Investigator Grant.
Also Read: 72-Million Year Old Dinosaur Embryo Found Inside a Fossilized Egg in China
