Scientists have found the first evidence that a giant shark known as the Megalodon attacked a sperm whale millions of years ago.
The “super shark” Megalodon is widely considered to be the largest shark ever to have lived on Earth and one of the largest vertebrate predators in history. However, evidence of this species’ hunting activities is scarce, and researchers have recently revealed a rare encounter of this creature with a colossal being.
“Super shark” Megalodon is widely regarded as the largest shark in history.
Scientists have discovered the first evidence of an ancient shark with giant teeth, the Megalodon, having attacked a sperm whale by studying its tooth.
The sperm whale’s tooth measures 116.5 millimeters long and shows three distinct shark bite marks. The two most prominent marks are 11.5 millimeters and 23.5 millimeters in length, respectively.
According to the research, the sperm whale had an estimated total body length of about 4 meters and could have been attacked by Otodus chubutensis or its descendant, Otodus megalodon.
Scientists noted that they could not determine the exact size of the shark. Stephen Godfrey, the lead author of the study from the Calvert Marine Museum, firmly believes that the shark was at least the size of a whale.
Stephen Godfrey stated: “Great white sharks today do not attack prey larger than themselves. If this holds true for the Megalodon, the ancient shark would have been at least 4.5 meters long. The attack could have come from a giant shark measuring between 6 to 18 meters.”
A study in June suggested that adult Megalodons could grow to nearly 20 meters in length, far exceeding previous estimates of the species’ size. Meanwhile, modern sperm whales can reach lengths of nearly 16 meters and weigh up to 41 tons.
Researcher Norman Riker discovered the whale tooth at the Nutrien Aurora Phosphate mine in Aurora, North Carolina, USA. The mine was open to fossil collectors during the 1970s and 1980s.
The shark attack likely occurred around 14 million years ago. Based on the bite force, researchers believe the attack happened while the sperm whale was still alive because if it had already died, the shark would not have needed to exert much effort to bite into its face.
This confrontation resulted in a fatal wound for the sperm whale. The Megalodon was a gigantic shark that went extinct approximately 15.9 to 2.6 million years ago during the Neogene period.
