In contrast, the body temperatures of other cold-blooded apex predators are regulated by the temperature of water around them.īeing warm-blooded may have been one of the key drivers fueling megalodons’ massive size and overall prowess as predators, according to senior study author Kenshu Shimada, a paleobiologist at DePaul University in Chicago. Like modern great white and mako sharks, megalodons were regionally endothermic, which means they had the ability to regulate temperature in certain parts of the body, according to the study. From this finding, they deduced the megalodon’s average body temperature was about 27 C (80 F). The researchers observed how closely carbon-13 and oxygen-18 isotopes found in the ancient shark’s fossilized teeth were bonded together - a data point that can reveal how warm the body was. The extinct superpredator megalodon was big enough to eat orcas, scientists say Scientists previously theorized that megalodons were warm-blooded, but the new study is the first to provide concrete evidence to that effect. The findings suggest this distinct trait played a key role in the ancient predator’s terrifying size - and its eventual disappearance.īelieved to be at least 15 meters (49 feet) long, Otodus megalodon, also known as the megatooth shark, was one of the largest apex marine predators since the Mesozoic era and went extinct about 3.6 million years ago, according to Eagle. megalodon had body temperatures significantly elevated compared to other sharks, consistent with it having a degree of internal heat production as modern warm-blooded (endothermic) animals do,” study coauthor Robert Eagle, professor of marine science and geobiology at UCLA, said in an email. Through an analysis of fossilized megalodon teeth, scientists have discovered the extinct shark was partially warm-blooded, with a body temperature around 7 degrees Celsius (44 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than estimated seawater temperatures at the time, according to a study published last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Sharks are millions of years older than dinosaurs and 5 other facts that may surprise you Tiger sharks, one of Australia's primary predators, may help ecosystems respond to extreme climate events.

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