A research team led by Jack Cooper, a paleobiologist at Swansea University, set out to use 3D modeling from a rare and exceptionally well-preserved megalodon spine to extrapolate information about the shark’s movement and behavior. Their research was published in Science Advances Wednesday. “We estimate that an adult O. megalodon could travel at faster absolute speeds than any shark species today and fully consume prey the size of modern apex predators,” the researchers wrote. Most of what we know about megacrests comes from scientific inference: Scientists estimated that the extinct sharks could have been up to 65 feet long by comparing them to great whites, considered their “best available ecological analogue,” as both occupy the top. in the food chain, according to the article. The researchers used a large spine from Belgium, a tooth from the United States and chondrocranium — the cartilage equivalent of a skull — from a great white shark to build their 3D skeleton. They then used a full-body scan of a great white shark to calculate how flesh would sit on the bigtooth’s skeleton. With a full 3D rendering, they came up with estimates of the volume and body mass of the shark’s entire body. By comparing the data to the size of modern sharks, they calculated the shark’s swimming speed, stomach size, caloric needs and prey encounter rates. The magnum opus they designed would be nearly 16 meters or 52 feet long. It weighed about 61,560 kilograms, or 135,717 pounds, according to their estimates. They estimated that the megatooth could devour prey the size of orca whales — which can be up to 26 feet long and weigh more than 8,000 pounds — in just five bites. According to the researchers, prey the size of a modern humpback whale would have been too large for a large tooth to eat completely. Eating large prey may have given the big carnivore a competitive advantage over other predators. Eating large amounts at a time would also allow them to travel long distances without eating again, like modern great white sharks. An adult greatfin shark would need to eat 98,175 calories per day, 20 times more than an adult great white shark. They could have met their energy needs by eating about 31.9 kilograms of shark muscle, according to the researchers’ estimates. Megalodon was also faster than any living shark, with a theoretical average cruising speed of about 3.1 mph. This speed would allow it to encounter more prey, helping it meet its enormous caloric requirements. Taken together, the data extrapolated from the 3D model paints a portrait of a “deep-ocean superpredator,” the researchers say. Fortunately, today’s orcas don’t have to worry about encountering the huge shark. The giant went extinct around 3.6 million years ago, according to the UK’s Natural History Museum, for reasons scientists are still trying to understand.
title: “Extinct Super Predator Megalodon Was Big Enough To Eat Orcas Scientists Say Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-05” author: “John Rhodus”
A research team led by Jack Cooper, a paleobiologist at Swansea University, set out to use 3D modeling from a rare and exceptionally well-preserved megalodon spine to extrapolate information about the shark’s movement and behavior. Their research was published in Science Advances Wednesday. “We estimate that an adult O. megalodon could travel at faster absolute speeds than any shark species today and fully consume prey the size of modern apex predators,” the researchers wrote. Most of what we know about megacrests comes from scientific inference: Scientists estimated that the extinct sharks could have been up to 65 feet long by comparing them to great whites, considered their “best available ecological analogue,” as both occupy the top. in the food chain, according to the article. The researchers used a large spine from Belgium, a tooth from the United States and chondrocranium — the cartilage equivalent of a skull — from a great white shark to build their 3D skeleton. They then used a full-body scan of a great white shark to calculate how flesh would sit on the bigtooth’s skeleton. With a full 3D rendering, they came up with estimates of the volume and body mass of the shark’s entire body. By comparing the data to the size of modern sharks, they calculated the shark’s swimming speed, stomach size, caloric needs and prey encounter rates. The magnum opus they designed would be nearly 16 meters or 52 feet long. It weighed about 61,560 kilograms, or 135,717 pounds, according to their estimates. They estimated that the megatooth could devour prey the size of orca whales — which can be up to 26 feet long and weigh more than 8,000 pounds — in just five bites. According to the researchers, prey the size of a modern humpback whale would have been too large for a large tooth to eat completely. Eating large prey may have given the big carnivore a competitive advantage over other predators. Eating large amounts at a time would also allow them to travel long distances without eating again, like modern great white sharks. An adult greatfin shark would need to eat 98,175 calories per day, 20 times more than an adult great white shark. They could have met their energy needs by eating about 31.9 kilograms of shark muscle, according to the researchers’ estimates. Megalodon was also faster than any living shark, with a theoretical average cruising speed of about 3.1 mph. This speed would allow it to encounter more prey, helping it meet its enormous caloric requirements. Taken together, the data extrapolated from the 3D model paints a portrait of a “deep-ocean superpredator,” the researchers say. Fortunately, today’s orcas don’t have to worry about encountering the huge shark. The giant went extinct around 3.6 million years ago, according to the UK’s Natural History Museum, for reasons scientists are still trying to understand.
title: “Extinct Super Predator Megalodon Was Big Enough To Eat Orcas Scientists Say Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-16” author: “David Hindman”
A research team led by Jack Cooper, a paleobiologist at Swansea University, set out to use 3D modeling from a rare and exceptionally well-preserved megalodon spine to extrapolate information about the shark’s movement and behavior. Their research was published in Science Advances Wednesday. “We estimate that an adult O. megalodon could travel at faster absolute speeds than any shark species today and fully consume prey the size of modern apex predators,” the researchers wrote. Most of what we know about megacrests comes from scientific inference: Scientists estimated that the extinct sharks could have been up to 65 feet long by comparing them to great whites, considered their “best available ecological analogue,” as both occupy the top. in the food chain, according to the article. The researchers used a large spine from Belgium, a tooth from the United States and chondrocranium — the cartilage equivalent of a skull — from a great white shark to build their 3D skeleton. They then used a full-body scan of a great white shark to calculate how flesh would sit on the bigtooth’s skeleton. With a full 3D rendering, they came up with estimates of the volume and body mass of the shark’s entire body. By comparing the data to the size of modern sharks, they calculated the shark’s swimming speed, stomach size, caloric needs and prey encounter rates. The magnum opus they designed would be nearly 16 meters or 52 feet long. It weighed about 61,560 kilograms, or 135,717 pounds, according to their estimates. They estimated that the megatooth could devour prey the size of orca whales — which can be up to 26 feet long and weigh more than 8,000 pounds — in just five bites. According to the researchers, prey the size of a modern humpback whale would have been too large for a large tooth to eat completely. Eating large prey may have given the big carnivore a competitive advantage over other predators. Eating large amounts at a time would also allow them to travel long distances without eating again, like modern great white sharks. An adult greatfin shark would need to eat 98,175 calories per day, 20 times more than an adult great white shark. They could have met their energy needs by eating about 31.9 kilograms of shark muscle, according to the researchers’ estimates. Megalodon was also faster than any living shark, with a theoretical average cruising speed of about 3.1 mph. This speed would allow it to encounter more prey, helping it meet its enormous caloric requirements. Taken together, the data extrapolated from the 3D model paints a portrait of a “deep-ocean superpredator,” the researchers say. Fortunately, today’s orcas don’t have to worry about encountering the huge shark. The giant went extinct around 3.6 million years ago, according to the UK’s Natural History Museum, for reasons scientists are still trying to understand.
title: “Extinct Super Predator Megalodon Was Big Enough To Eat Orcas Scientists Say Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-24” author: “Bud Roth”
A research team led by Jack Cooper, a paleobiologist at Swansea University, set out to use 3D modeling from a rare and exceptionally well-preserved megalodon spine to extrapolate information about the shark’s movement and behavior. Their research was published in Science Advances Wednesday. “We estimate that an adult O. megalodon could travel at faster absolute speeds than any shark species today and fully consume prey the size of modern apex predators,” the researchers wrote. Most of what we know about megacrests comes from scientific inference: Scientists estimated that the extinct sharks could have been up to 65 feet long by comparing them to great whites, considered their “best available ecological analogue,” as both occupy the top. in the food chain, according to the article. The researchers used a large spine from Belgium, a tooth from the United States and chondrocranium — the cartilage equivalent of a skull — from a great white shark to build their 3D skeleton. They then used a full-body scan of a great white shark to calculate how flesh would sit on the bigtooth’s skeleton. With a full 3D rendering, they came up with estimates of the volume and body mass of the shark’s entire body. By comparing the data to the size of modern sharks, they calculated the shark’s swimming speed, stomach size, caloric needs and prey encounter rates. The magnum opus they designed would be nearly 16 meters or 52 feet long. It weighed about 61,560 kilograms, or 135,717 pounds, according to their estimates. They estimated that the megatooth could devour prey the size of orca whales — which can be up to 26 feet long and weigh more than 8,000 pounds — in just five bites. According to the researchers, prey the size of a modern humpback whale would have been too large for a large tooth to eat completely. Eating large prey may have given the big carnivore a competitive advantage over other predators. Eating large amounts at a time would also allow them to travel long distances without eating again, like modern great white sharks. An adult greatfin shark would need to eat 98,175 calories per day, 20 times more than an adult great white shark. They could have met their energy needs by eating about 31.9 kilograms of shark muscle, according to the researchers’ estimates. Megalodon was also faster than any living shark, with a theoretical average cruising speed of about 3.1 mph. This speed would allow it to encounter more prey, helping it meet its enormous caloric requirements. Taken together, the data extrapolated from the 3D model paints a portrait of a “deep-ocean superpredator,” the researchers say. Fortunately, today’s orcas don’t have to worry about encountering the huge shark. The giant went extinct around 3.6 million years ago, according to the UK’s Natural History Museum, for reasons scientists are still trying to understand.
