[Animals] Megalodon was a warm-blooded killer, but that may have doomed it to extinction

[FRIDAY THE 13]

Scientists studied the fossilized teeth of megalodon and determined that the jumbo-size extinct species of shark was warm-blooded.

Megalodon, a mega-size species of extinct shark that prowled the world's oceans between 23 million and 3.6 million years ago, was likely warm-blooded and had a body temperature that was significantly higher than that of modern-day sharks, new research suggests.

A team of international scientists made the discovery while studying the fossilized teeth of the megalodon (Otodus megalodon), whose species name means "big tooth." These jumbo-size carnivores often grew to be similar in length to tractor-trailers, roughly 50 feet (15 meters) long, according to a study published Monday (June 26) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Like many shark species, including great whites (Carcharodon carcharias), megalodon is classified in the new research as being "regionally endothermic," meaning that it can maintain its body heat even when its external environment is much cooler. 

Sponsored Links
Incredible toothbrush is all the rage in Europe
Well-Being-Review.com
For the study, researchers used a combination of geothermal techniques to estimate the giant shark’s body temperature based on the compositions of various isotopes, or versions of elements, in fossilized megalodon teeth. 

Related: Could the megalodon still exist today?

"The temperature at which the mineral formed, including biologically mineralized hard tissues like teeth, can be extrapolated from the degree to which these isotopes have bonded or 'clumped' together," study co-author Kenshu Shimada, a professor of paleobiology in the College of Science and Health at DePaul University in Chicago, told Live Science in an email. "The geochemical technique employed was previously used to examine the warm-bloodedness of dinosaurs. The new study demonstrates that the method can be applied also to marine vertebrates like sharks using their hard, well-mineralized anatomical components such as teeth."

The study found that the average body temperature of the megalodon was approximately 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius), whereas modern-day sharks with regional endothermy have an average body temperature between 72 F to 80 F (22 C to 26.6 C), according to the study.

link: https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/megalodon-was-a-warm-blooded-killer-but-that-may-have-doomed-it-to-extinction