Giant Megalodon’s Prey Finally Revealed — And It’s Not What We Thought

The massive Megalodon, one of the greatest predators of the Neogene period, ruled the oceans for about 20 million years before vanishing. During that time, it fed on virtually any marine creature large enough to become a meal.

New Evidence Challenges Old Assumptions

That’s the conclusion of a new study that analyzed fossilized Megalodon teeth and compared them to modern shark teeth. The findings suggest that, contrary to previous belief, Megalodon didn’t feed exclusively on whales. While whales were indeed part of its diet, the giant shark was a far more opportunistic eater.

“Our study paints a picture of Megalodon as an ecologically versatile predator,” says geochemist Jeremy McCormack from Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany. “It was flexible enough to feed on marine mammals and large fish, occupying both the top and lower levels of the food chain, depending on what was available.”

Megalodon lived between 23 million and 3.6 million years ago and sat firmly at the top of the marine food web. Because its skeleton was mostly made of cartilage, what remains are fossilized teeth and a few vertebrae. Based on these, scientists estimate it was between 13 and 20 meters long, though some suggest it may have grown even larger.

Unlocking Secrets Through Isotopes

To uncover clues about its diet, researchers analyzed zinc isotopes in Megalodon teeth. Lighter (zinc-64) and heavier (zinc-66) isotopes can indicate an animal’s position in the food web: the higher up the chain, the less zinc-66 is present.

That pattern was evident in the teeth of Megalodon and its extinct relative Otodus chubutensis. Since the exact species at the base of the food web 18 million years ago is unknown, the researchers compared the findings with modern species to reconstruct what Megalodon might have eaten.

“Sea bream, which feed on mussels and crustaceans, made up the lowest level of our studied food chain,” McCormack explains. “Smaller sharks and ancestors of dolphins and whales came next. Then came larger sharks like the sand tiger shark. At the top were giant sharks like Araloselachus cuspidatus and the Otodus genus, including Megalodon.”

The study also found regional dietary variations. Megalodon teeth from Passau, Germany, showed signs of feeding on prey lower in the food chain — a strategy similar to that of modern great white sharks, which are known to hunt opportunistically.

This flexibility may have been a double-edged sword. Earlier research led by McCormack suggests that competition from rising predators like great white sharks contributed to Megalodon’s decline.

It gives us new insight into how marine ecosystems have evolved over geological time,” says paleobiologist Kenshu Shimada of DePaul University in the U.S., “but more importantly, it reminds us that even apex super-predators aren’t immune to extinction.

Read the original article on: Science Alert

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