Miocene marine vertebrate trophic ecology reveals megatooth sharks as opportunistic supercarnivores
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: • Enamel(oid) zinc isotopes are used to reconstruct Miocene marine food web structures. • δ 66 Zn values record resource partitioning among Upper Marine Molasse vertebrate taxa. • The dietary ecology of Carcharodon hastalis was distinct from modern white sharks. • Otodus chubutensis/megalodon had a similar trophic level as modern apex predators. • Otodus spp. were flexible in their prey selection also on a population level. Trophic interactions play pivotal roles in marine vertebrate ecology and evolution. Yet, these parameters are especially difficult to determine in fossil communities. To elucidate past trophic palaeoecology, we apply the zinc isotope proxy in a comprehensive analysis of 19 taxa from an early Miocene marine ecosystem, including the megatooth sharks Otodus megalodon / chubutensis . We find substantial resource partitioning among these taxa, with at least three distinct trophic positions and a general increase in body size of taxa towards the top of the food web. The white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias ) ancestor Carcharodon hastalis had a distinctly different trophic ecology compared to modern C. carcharias , corresponding to the evolutionary gain of tooth serrations between the two species. A comparison among fossil assemblages indicates that megatooth Otodus sharks possessed a higher dietary flexibility on a population level than previously understood, suggesting that they were opportunistic supercarnivores capable of foraging throughout the food web.
Institutions: Goethe University Frankfurt, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, William Paterson University, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Bavarian Natural History Collections, Museum für Naturkunde, Freie Universität Berlin, Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Université de Montpellier, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, DePaul University, Fort Hays State University
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,670
Funders: European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Wilhelm und Else Heraeus-Stiftung, La Rochelle Université, Office Français de la Biodiversité, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, European Research Council, HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council
Awards: Zink Isotopie als neues Ernährungsproxy zur Entschlüsselung der Ökologie von rezenten und fossilen Haien, G2710930647, G3547849261, G3824774183, G4275096880, G434337789, G4925169125, G4948188331, G526461284, Ein Nahrungsspektrum Identifizierung von Allesfressern und unterschiedlichen Graden des Verzehrs von tierischen Stoffen anhand gepaarter stabiler Stickstoff und Zinkisotope, G6590379346, G668334602, G7209919510, G990998656
OpenAlex ID: W4410739009