Have you ever wondered how many bites a Megalodon would need to consume a Killer Whale? No? A new study has revealed the answer, as well as more information about the most infamous prehistoric shark.
I wrote an article about Megalodon, the massive, whale-eating shark species, less than a week ago. Three days later, a group of scientists published a groundbreaking paper on Megalodon.
Talk about impeccable timing...
The Pimento Research Group's report, which was released on August 17th, is a thorough investigation of the biology and ecology of Megalodon. The scientific team developed an unheard-of three-dimensional model of Megalodon using a combination of teeth, vertebrae, and deductions from the contemporary Great White Shark. The most dangerous and enigmatic predator of prehistory is now better understood thanks to information that this model has made available that was previously unavailable to researchers.
©Esther Van Hulsen
Shark bones are comprised of cartilage, which is rarely fossilised, which is unfortunate for palaeontologists. Paleontologists could therefore only speculate on Megalodon's size and appearance based on their teeth. Although Megalodon vertebrae have been recovered, they are often uncommon and frequently found alone. This isn't exactly a precise procedure, as you could expect.
the specimen from Belgium. The Belgian specimen, which was found in 1843, is an exception to the rule about Megalodon's vertebrae. The specimen, which is made up of 141 vertebrae, belonged to a single person who was probably around 46 years old. The team was able to produce the first 3D model of Megalodon using the vertebrae, a Megalodon dentary from the United States, and a body scan of Carcharodon carcharis (The Great White Shark).
The Pieces put together. ©Cooper et al.
Always a Bigger Fish in the Sea Aside from Megalodon.
Megalodon was the largest shark known to science, but precise measurements have eluded palaeontologists. A humpback whale could fit between the 10 and 25 metres of length that have been estimated historically. The Pimento group estimated Megalodon's length to be around 16 metres using the model. More astounding perhaps was their estimate of Megalodon's weight: at an incredible 61.5 tonnes, Megalodon weighed more than 25 Great Whites! The calculated breadth of Megalodon's jaws when opened, at 1.8 metres, was a humorous—and terrifying—stat. Since the typical person is 1.75 metres tall, Megalodon could easily swallow us whole! You could now be relieved that they are extinct, if you weren't previously.
1.8 meters of sheer doom. ©Joschua Knuppe
The Megalodon way of exploring the open oceans!
The first new discovery of the study was Megalodon's swimming speed. Using modern shark cruising speeds in relation to body mass, the Pimento team calculated a mean cruising speed of 1.4 metres per second (5 kilometres per hour). While this may not appear to be impressive, there are two points to consider. First, this is Megalodon's cruising speed, or the casual pace at which it swims. Second, this would be the shark's fastest cruising speed! Though burst speeds could not be calculated, it is clear that Megalodon's steady pace could have allowed him to travel across the ocean in search of prey.
Have you ever wondered how much food a 16-meter shark could consume? Well, the Pimento study has the answer. Using the Great White as a proxy, Megalodon's stomach volume was estimated to be 9,605 litres. In more modern terms, Megalodon could fully digest prey up to 8 metres long, the size of modern killer whales. Yes, a killer whale could easily fit inside Meg's stomach! Megalodon's jaws are so wide that they could eat an 8-meter-long prey in as few as five bites. And my parents say I eat too quickly!
From the Depths Below. ©Jaime Bran
Megalodon's dietary requirements - and how it could meet those requirements - were also calculated. According to the model, Megalodon required nearly 100,000 kilocalories per day, which is more than 20 times that of a Great White. While this may appear to be an enormous amount of food, Megalodon's diet consisted of nutrient-dense prey. Whale blubber and shark livers are high in nutrients and could have helped Megalodon survive for extended periods of time.
This study's best part is when it describes how long Megalodon could be sustained by each of its potential prey options. Megalodon could survive for a day and a half on prey up to 3 metres long, such as dolphins. Megalodon could live for two months on a single mid-sized prey animal, such as Orcas, Great Whites, and its favourite, small whales. The largest whales could feed Megalodon for about 5 months, making them valuable prey. The good news for whales is that Megalodon did not need to eat as frequently. The bad news is that when it did, it could swallow them in a matter of bites.
It would be an understatement to say that this study is unprecedented. It is nearly impossible to conduct research on the ecology of prehistoric animals, particularly those with few skeletal remains, such as sharks. Feeding capacity and swimming speeds are rarely detectable in extinct species, making their discovery in studies like this one noteworthy.
There is a critical issue that must be addressed. The findings of this study were heavily reliant on inferences drawn from the physiology of the Great White Shark. Because it is unclear how closely the two species are related, results based on inferring traits may be imprecise. Having said that, in the field of palaeontology, speculation is always required. Without a little bit of imagination, the creatures of the past would not be as interesting.
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