In the distant past, massive sharks roamed our seas. Now, scientists are taking a closer look at what caused these Jaws-like behemoths to die off - and they found that it may just have been prey scarcity.
The largest shark to ever exist is called Carcharocles megalodon. This creature lived between 23 million and 2.6 million years ago. It was massive during its lifetime, spanning up to 18 meters in length. This shark likely fed on marine mammals, like killer whales do today.
However, this massive shark became extinct. While scientists have long blamed climate change for its disappearance, researchers wanted to investigate the phenomenon a bit further. Now, they've gotten a closer look at how the megalodon may have finally gone extinct.
In this latest study, the researchers looked at 200 megalodon records from museum collections and databases. This allowed the scientists to reconstruct the range and abundance of the massive shark.
So what did they find? About 16 million years ago, the shark could be found in the Northern Hemisphere in the relatively warm waters off of the coast of America. They could also be found around Europe and the Indian Ocean. The sharks then later moved into the Asian, Australian and South American coastal waters. Then, about five million years ago, the sharks went into a continuous decline. Interestingly, though, the researchers didn't find any evidence that climate changes were responsible for this decline.
"We were not able to ascertain any direct link between the extinction of C. megalodon and the global fluctuations in temperatures during this time," said Catalina Pimiento from the Paleontological Institute and Museum of the University of Zurich, one of the researchers of the new study. "Changing climatic conditions do not appear to have had any influence on the population density and range of the giant sharks."
The findings reveal a bit more about this massive shark. More specifically, it shows that climate may not have been the major cause of this decline. Instead, it's likely a decline in prey and the appearance of new predators that may have actually caused this massive shark to become extinct.
The findings are published in the Journal of Biogeography.
