An international team of researchers has reconstructed the appearance and habits of megalodon. In my work
Reconstructed megalodon (Otodus megalodon)had a length of 16 m and weighed more than 61 tons. Scientists considered that he swam at a speed of 1.4 m / s. The organism of the ancient predator consumed more than 98 thousand kcal per day, and the volume of its stomach exceeded 10 thousand liters. This was enough to cover long distances and eat prey up to 8 m long at a time.
Although many fossils have been foundteeth of the giant shark ancestor, other parts of the body are extremely rare. The skeletons of megalodons are made of cartilage, and therefore they are rarely fossilized. Scientists used a rare find - the spine of a giant shark from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences - for computer simulations.
The researchers measured and scanned eachspine and restored the entire column, and based on the dental models, reconstructed the jaws. To complete the model, they used the muscle structure of a great white shark.
Weight is one of the most important characteristics of anyanimal. For extinct animals, we can estimate body mass using modern 3D digital modeling techniques and then establish relationships between mass and other biological properties such as speed and energy use.
John Hutchinson, professor at the Royal Veterinary College in the UK, co-author of the study
Researchers believe that the high demandMegalodon's energy could have been met by feeding on calorie-rich whale fat. This is confirmed by previous finds: whale fossils with megalodon bite marks. At the same time, feeding simulations showed that eating one 8-meter whale could allow the shark to swim thousands of kilometers through the oceans without food for two months.
Cover image: J. J. Giraldo, University of Zurich
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