Megalodon, the biggest shark ever to live, may have been driven to extinction because it was competing with great white sharks for the same food
It has been an estimated 3.5 million years since the last megalodon died, but the reason for the giant carnivore’s demise remains a mystery. Previous research suggests megalodon may have struggled to find enough food to meet their massive appetite, andat DePaul University, Illinois, and his colleagues were eager to find out more about the giant fish’s place in the food chain.
Using a dental drill to collect tooth enamel, the team sampled 20 living shark species and 13 extinct species including megalodon. They then compared the varying levels of zinc trapped in the 262 individual teeth. Zinc is essential for animal life and is mostly sourced from diet – with the exact balance of zinc isotopes in the diet, and hence tooth enamel, indicative of the type of food an animal has eaten.
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