What Killed The Megalodon Shark?

Introduction

Megalodon shark (Otodus Megalodon ) is a prehistoric animal that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago. It is the largest, most powerful animal in history. They belong to the family Odontidae. They resemble today’s modern great white shark. The first fossils of the megalodon shark were discovered in Europe. These fossils create many questions about megalodon, one of which is “What killed the Megalodon Shark?” Here we discuss.

What Killed the Megalodon?

The megalodon shark became extinct approximately around 3.5 million years ago, when the Pliocene epoch ended, although no exact date is difficult to pinpoint. Scientists have determined from the teeth of the megalodon shark when it became extinct in the world.  But no one knows the real truth about the exact megalodon shark extinction in this world. Whatever information we have today has been gathered from all the fossils. Many scientists give different reasons for the extinction of the megalodon shark, some of which we will explain here.

1. Climate Change ( Ocean Cooling).

• In the late Pliocene, the Earth began to cool significantly, causing sea level to fall, reducing the warm coastal habitats that megalodon depended on. Megalodon preferred warm water, so the cooler seas likely shrank their hunting areas.
• About 4 to 2.5 million years ago, when the Earth had a global temperature decrease, the polar ice cap expanded, causing the sea level to drop by hundreds of feet. This reduced the warm water that was the habitat of the megalodon shark. Cold water was not suitable for it, which affects its metabolism and reproductive system, which depend on warm water to decrease its reproduction, and it gradually disappeared.

2. Loss of Prey (Marine Mammals Shift).

• The Megalodon shark preyed on large marine mammals such as blue whales and seals. When the Earth’s surface temperature dropped, these creatures migrated to cooler water and died out in warmer waters. The lack of food made it difficult for such a large predator to survive.
• The Megalodon shark requires more than 1000 kilograms (2200+lbs) of food per day, which is essential for its massive body.
• One reason for its extinction is that the newly evolved whales were faster and more agile, making it more difficult to hunt.
• For a gigantic predator that likely required over a ton of food a day, the loss of prey options was catastrophic. Unlike smaller sharks or through emerging competitors like great whites, the Megalodon did not have the possibility of adapting to a new prey structure or hunting after whales into colder waters. These migratory changes, and consequently the redistribution of marine mammals, played an important role in the breakdown of the food chain to which the Megalodon was accustomed, and, as a result, its extinction.

3. Rise of New Predators.

The emergence of new predators was yet another significant factor that contributed to Megalodon’s extinction. The late Miocene and early Pliocene were characterized by the beginning and diversification of marine hunters – including great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and orcas (Orcinus orca) – that were highly adaptable. While both were smaller than the Megalodon, these species had distinct advantages over safer attacks that likely contributed to species extinction. The great white shark, for example, could attain faster speeds, be/quite agile, although it had shorter overall lengths; it was related to being a smaller and more agile hunter that could hunt diverse prey, leading to an advantage in rapidly changing environments. Orcas were highly social foragers that employed tactics that involved working cooperatively to hunt both efficiently and carry out a fair share of the prey. Conversely, when the Megalodon and juvenile Megalodon were in-shore or in shallow nursery habitats, along the coastlines, they would be less agile than speed or movement-oriented predation, such as that which was likely employed by orca’s stalking habits. Both great whites and orcas were also adept at hunting along the cooler water temperature ranges and expanding to where the Megalodon could not due to its preference for warm seawater. Thus, due to their aggressiveness as predators made it more likely to compete and opportunistically exploit prey, while also packing and working collaboratively, to fill the ecological niche created by the decline of Megalodon populations. The combination of these emerging species and their success contributed to the diversity of megafauna species, along with the foraging ecology that slowed the decline of Megalodon as ocean temperatures continued to change.

• At the same time, smaller and more adapted predators evolved, such as the Great White Shark and the Orca (killer whale), which could survive in cold water and had better hunting techniques.
• Some studies suggest that juvenile megalodons were preyed upon by these predator,s which led to a decline in their population.

4. Slow Reproduction.

• Like the modern shark, the megalodon shark had a long life span but had a low reproductive rate, which led to its population decline and failure to recover.
• With a relative lack of offspring combined with a long maturation period, potentially taking 15-20 years to reach adulthood, Megalodon populations simply were not able to replace offspring quickly enough to withstand these changing conditions, and compounded with loss of suitable habitat and another competing predator, low reproduction rates would have eventually made it impossible for Megalodons to sustain population sizes
• Megalodon sharks have few offspring and a long gestation period , and also delayed maturity     ( may be 20+ years to adulthood). This made to low its population.

All these events led to the extinction of the megalodon shark. The megalodon shark did not all disappear at once; it went extinct gradually.