Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → Biology

Paleontologists make gruesome finding about 300-million-year-old shark

A small tooth in a fecal sample confirms that the fierce predator ate its young.

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
August 12, 2016
in Biology, Geology, News

A small tooth in a fecal sample confirms that the fierce predator ate its young.

Art by Nobu Tamura.

Orthacanthus was the top predator of its day – in freshwater. If you lived 300 million years ago in a river or a swamp, you would fear it, and for good reason. Its body reached nearly 10 feet (3 meters) in length and the shark possessed a peculiar set of double-fanged teeth. It was an efficient and ruthless killer. A new study showed just how ruthless it was: it didn’t shy away from eating its own.

Researchers found a coprolite (a fecal fossil) in a famous coal field in New Brunswick, Canada, and Trinity College PhD candidate Aodhán Ó Gogáin was able to examine what it ate. Identifying these coprolites is relatively easy, because the species had a distinctive corkscrew rectum, creating spiral-shaped feces.

Shown is a sample of Orthacanthus feces, with a black box indicating the tooth of a juvenile Orthacanthus. Credit: Aodhán Ó Gogáin (Trinity College Dublin)

Rather surprisingly, Ó Gogáin found the tooth of a young Orthacanthus in the feces, indicating that the shark ate its young. It’s not exactly clear why this happened, but there are a few theories. The reason is probably connected to a shifting food regime. During the time, Orthacanthus was terrorizing coastal swamps, but marine fish were starting to expand their territory, moving inland more and more.

“During this invasion of fresh water, sharks were cannibalizing their young in order to find the resources to keep on exploring into the continental interiors,” study co-author Howard Falcon-Lang, of Royal Holloway University of London, told the BBC.

“It’s possible that Orthacanthus used inland waterways as protected nurseries to rear its babies, but then consumed them as food when other resources became scarce,” he said in a statement.

Orthacanthus could have probably moved back and forth between sweet and marine water.

“Orthacanthus was probably a bit like the modern day bull shark,” said Ó Gogáin, “in that it was able to migrate backwards and forwards between coastal swamps and shallow seas. This unusual ecological adaptation may have played an important role in the colonization of inland freshwater environments.”

Journal Reference: Fish and tetrapod communities across a marine to brackish salinity gradient in the Pennsylvanian (early Moscovian) Minto Formation of New Brunswick, Canada, and their palaeoecological and palaeogeographical implications.

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. 300 million year old shark nursery found
  2. Archaeological finding could confirm gruesome Greek legend
  3. Fossil Friday: 300 million-year-old “Godzilla Shark” from New Mexico finally gets an official name
  4. Paleontologists did discover fossilized brain tissue in 520 million year old specimens
  5. Paleontologists find 6.2 million year old wolf-sized otter
Tags: coprolitefossil

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW