A giant shark species was discovered

On September 29, fossil traces of a giant shark up to 16m long were discovered in Panama. This is a large shark, like the version of the modern white shark, called Megalodon (Charcharocles megalodon).

The shark, considered to be the first predator in the ocean at about 1.5 million years ago, has a tooth about 15 cm long. Paleontologists have argued that there is only one assumption for these ferocious animals that existed in South Carolina today.

On the Caribbean coast in Panama, researchers found that the majority of the teeth were 1.2 cm and 7.5 cm in size.

Teeth of Megalodon shark (Photo: Discovery)

A research team at the University of Florida in Gainesville compared fossil samples with Charcharocles Megalodon and determined that the piece of fossil teeth found was of an immature shark.

In both Panama and South Carolina, Megalodon species live in warm, shallow water areas that are conducive to reproduction.

However, the assumption of South Carolina is still controversial. There is a classification of teeth of both large and small Megalodon sharks as well as whale skulls that are primers of adult sharks.

But Pimiento (a member of the research team) thinks it is unlikely that this immature shark can be eaten like a whale because it can be as long as 6 meters in size, similar in size to a shark. mature white.

" The study also shows that some immature sharks don't consume much food, " she wrote in an email, referring to the problem "Sharks exist today."

Pimiento presented last week's research at a conference of the Paleontological Society of Vertebrate Animals in Bristol, UK.

This discovery underscores the importance of shark habitats, both ancient and modern.

" These areas are essential habitats for sharks' survival, and without them the animal system will become flawed ," Pimiento said. " Now, in coastal areas, people are trying to catch fish. So these studies are telling us that these areas were once inhabited by sharks. for millions of years, and we need to preserve the area so that sharks can proliferate and survive ".

(Flower image: Treehugger)

" Megalodon is very likely to become extinct because it's so big, it's very difficult to find enough food to survive," said Albert Sanders of the Charleston Museum in South Carolina.

He added: " People need to change. We don't know that we are doing many activities that damage species diversity in the ocean today ."