Great white sharks may be the reason why giant Megalodon shark is extinct

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This is a puzzle that has escaped shark scientists for years: why exactly? the old & nbsp;Otodus megalodon, the largest shark ever to swim in the oceans of our planet, has disappeared? While recent films and unhealthy documentaries have played to the idea that "the Meg" is still alive, it is unquestionably extinct according to marine biologists. Theories have been proposed ranging from lack of prey to massive extinction events. Exhausted or not (as some conspirators believe), this creature nearly 20 meters long captures the attention of all. Especially that of Robert Boessenecker, paleontologist at Charleston College in South Carolina, who found a Otodus megalodon dent in California and began looking for more evidence of this animal on the west coast. Boessenecker and his colleagues then further expanded their hunt, broadening the horizons to understand how such a giant shark could achieve what could be one of the best disappearances on the planet.

But megalodon is a former magician who has thrown many researchers under his spell, including Catalina Pimiento& nbsp; from the University of Florida and & nbsp;Christopher Clements& nbsp; from the University of Zurich which in 2014 & nbsp;published their analysis& nbsp; the extinction of the old animal using the available data. Their team of researchers determined that the megalodon may still have inhabited our oceans about 2.6 million years ago, which is about half a million years before our close relatives.Homo erectus& nbsp;began to chart a path on this planet. Previous research suggested that there was a mass extinction event at that time caused by the radiation from a nearby supernova that had resulted not only in the death of this predator, but also in many other animals such as the old ones. seals, walruses, dolphins and whales. "The extinction of O. Megalodon Previously, we thought we were linked to this marine mass extinction – but in reality we now know that the two are not immediately linked, "said Boessenecker.

What started for Boessenecker on a sandy beach in California and a curiosity led to an answer that took the Internet by storm: megalodon disappeared about 3.6 million years agowhich is one million years earlier than any previous estimate. Posted in the newspaper & nbsp;peerj, this chronology means that the megalodon has fallen … the animal we know today as the & nbsp;great White shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Pink. Would it be the culprit of what finally upset our old marine ecosystems and sentenced to death the megalodon? Boessenecker and the team believe it.

"We propose that this brief overlap (3.6 to 4 million years ago) was enough time for great white sharks to spread worldwide and surpass themselves.O. Megalodon& nbsp; throughout its range, which leads to extinction – rather than the radiation of outer space, "said Boessenecker.& nbsp; in a statement. "It's a lot more believable and solidly supported by the data," agreed & nbsp;Tom Dem & oacute; r & oacute;, commenting National Geographic. Dem & oacute; r & oacute; is a paleontology curator at the San Diego Museum of Natural History and a critic of the 2014 Pimiento and Clement study.

But this is not the only culprit of this extinction. Although the publication states that adult Great Whites "would have been of the same order of size and would have likely competed with juveniles Otodus megalodonIt also points to decreasing prey (small whales eaten by megalodons) and what scientists call fragmentation of the course, which is the time when populations of one species are split into separate areas. Researchers say the fossil record has been misinterpreted in previous studies with Boessenecker commenting"We used the same global dataset as the previous researchers, but we thoroughly examined each fossil record. We found that most dates had several problems – fossils that were too old or inaccurate, fossils that were poorly identified or dated since. refined by improvements in geology. "

When the population of megalodons became fragmented, the big predators had to fight for the reduction of food, not only against each other, but also against the newly emerged and much smaller white shark. Although smaller, tall whites are as ferocious as any other shark, and their smaller size and increased agility may have made them more powerful. Both animals ate similar prey, which means that the megalodon did not stand a chance against the most recent competitor. & Nbsp;Carcharodon carcharias evolved about four million years ago, with scientists estimating that they ventured out of the Pacific Ocean about two million years ago. Leaving the confines of the Pacific was a step towards the total domination of the world, which had spread throughout the world for hundreds of thousands of years. Today, the great white shark remains a cosmopolitan shark and is often the front page for killings. I suppose this may be another item that can be added to the list.

Who thinks that the next success of "Baby Shark" should be "Shark off"? Megalodon & nbsp; may not be a fan, though.

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This is a puzzle that has escaped shark scientists for years: why exactly the old Otodus megalodon, the largest shark ever to swim in the oceans of our planet, has disappeared? While recent films and unhealthy documentaries have played to the idea that "the Meg" is still alive, it is unquestionably extinct according to marine biologists. Theories have been proposed ranging from lack of prey to massive extinction events. Exhausted or not (as some conspirators believe), this creature nearly 20 meters long captures the attention of all. Especially that of Robert Boessenecker, paleontologist at Charleston College in South Carolina, who found a Otodus megalodon dent in California and began looking for more evidence of this animal on the west coast. Boessenecker and his colleagues then further expanded their hunt, broadening the horizons to understand how such a giant shark could achieve what could be one of the best disappearances on the planet.

But megalodon is a former magician who has thrown many researchers on her, including Catalina Pimiento from the University of Florida and Christopher Clements from the University of Zurich who, in 2014, published their analysis of the disappearance of the ancient animal using the available data. Their team of researchers determined that the megalodon may still have inhabited our oceans about 2.6 million years ago, which is about half a million years before our human relatives Homo erectus began to chart a path on this planet. Previous research suggested that there was a mass extinction event at that time caused by the radiation from a nearby supernova that had resulted not only in the death of this predator, but also in many other animals such as the old ones. seals, walruses, dolphins and whales. "The extinction of O. Megalodon Previously, we thought we were linked to this marine mass extinction – but in reality we now know that the two are not immediately linked, "said Boessenecker.

What started on a sandy beach in California for Boessenecker and a curiosity led to an answer that stormed the Internet: the megalodon disappeared about 3.6 million years ago, which is a million years earlier than all previous estimates. Posted in the journal peerj, this timeline means that the megalodon has fallen … the animal we know today as the great modern white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Pink. Would it be the culprit of what finally upset our old marine ecosystems and sentenced to death the megalodon? Boessenecker and the team believe it.

"We propose that this brief overlap (3.6 to 4 million years ago) was enough time for great white sharks to spread around the world and outperform each other. O. Megalodon throughout its range, resulting in its extinction, rather than radiation from space, "Boessenecker said in a statement. "It's much more credible and more solidly supported by the data," said Tom Demere, commenting on National Geographic. Demere is a paleontology curator at the San Diego Museum of Natural History and a critic of the 2014 Pimiento and Clement study.

But this is not the only culprit of this extinction. Although the publication states that adult Great Whites "would have been of the same order of size and would have likely competed with juveniles Otodus megalodonIt also points to decreasing prey (small whales eaten by megalodons) and what scientists call fragmentation of the course, which is the time when populations of one species are split into separate areas. Researchers say the fossil record has been misinterpreted in previous studies. Boessenecker commented: or imprecise, poorly identified fossils, or old dates that have since been refined by improvements in geology. "

When the population of megalodons became fragmented, the big predators had to fight for the reduction of food, not only against each other, but also against the newly emerged and much smaller white shark. Although smaller, tall whites are as ferocious as any other shark, and their smaller size and increased agility may have made them more powerful. Both animals ate similar prey, which means that the megalodon had no chance against the new competitor. Carcharodon carcharias evolved about four million years ago, with scientists estimating that they ventured out of the Pacific Ocean about two million years ago. Leaving the confines of the Pacific was a step towards the total domination of the world, which had spread throughout the world for hundreds of thousands of years. Today, the great white shark remains a cosmopolitan shark and is often the front page for killings. I suppose this may be another item that can be added to the list.

Who thinks that the next success of "Baby Shark" should be "Shark off"? Megalodon may not be a fan, though.