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Prehistoric food fight - 22 August 2022

A prehistoric food fight may have resulted in the extinction of the megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived. An age-old mystery, the megalodon's extinction has led many experts to theorise several possibilities, from ecological issues such as loss of habitat, to a decline in available prey.

The megalodon, derived its name from the Latin 'otodus megalodon', meaning 'big tooth' because of the shark's 276 huge teeth. It inhabited the oceans 22 million years ago until its extinction, three million years ago. Reaching up to 18 metres and 60 tonnes, the megalodon was triple that of its competitor, the great white shark.

The latest research by international scientists looked at the zinc isotopes, in the teeth of living and extinct sharks, as a tool to understand the diet of the long-dead sea creatures. Chemical clues in the teeth of living sharks and 13 fossil megalodon teeth suggest the ancestors of the great white shark and the megalodon once had similar positions in the food chain. They may have competed for the same food, including whales, dolphins and porpoises. The two ferocious predators had to compete for food.

Given its size, the battle for diminishing stocks of whales and other prey alongside environmental pressures, such as changing sea levels may have pushed the megalodon to extinction three million years ago.

Prof Thomas Tütken of Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, where the study was conducted commented on the new findings. "This is a piece in the puzzle of evidence that there was competition between the modern great white and the megalodon on aquatic food resources in the oceans at the time when both were still alive."