Discover the oldest white shark nursery

A team from the University of Vienna in Austria found a million-year-old breeding ground for large white sharks on the coast of Chile.

Despite being the leading ocean killer, the great white shark is still classified as an endangered animal due to its low reproductive rate. The study of ancient nurseries can therefore provide important information about evolution, contributing to future species conservation.

Large white sharks breed only in certain areas where the offspring are protected from other predators until they are large enough to become the leading food predators. Such nurseries are necessary to maintain population size and have a direct impact on the evolutionary success of the species.

A fossilized baby shark tooth was found at the nursery. (Photo: Phys).

In a report published recently in Science Reports , researchers from the Austrian Institute of Paleontology at the University of Vienna of Austria said they found a million-year-old fossil nursery of the great white shark. in the western Pacific Ocean, near the coast of Chile.

Lead researcher Jaime Villafana and colleagues analyzed a series of fossils that were about 2 to 5 million years old at this ancient breeding site to replicate a model of their body size before they died. Results showed that all specimens were sexually immature juveniles.

"Without a doubt, this is the oldest white shark nursery ever made," Villafana said . "It comes from a time when the Earth's climate is much warmer than it is today, so it can be considered as an example of future nurseries based on global warming trends."

"Understanding the past will allow us to take appropriate conservation measures from today to save this leading species of predator, which is extremely important for the ecosystem. I pointed out that rising sea temperatures will change the distribution of sharks as well as their breeding areas in the future, " said paleontologist Jürgen Kriwet from the University of Vienna, a member of the research team. for more info.

Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are thought to have been on Earth since the middle of the Middle Ages 16 million years ago. They are one of the largest predators in the ocean when they can grow to a length of 6.4 m and weigh more than 3 tons. 

C. carcharias is sexually mature at 15 years old. They are species ovoviviparity , meaning that animals produce offspring but not by pregnancy but by eggs after fertilization is retained in the oviduct of the mother shark until hatching. The pregnancy usually lasts 11 months.