Miocene marine vertebrate trophic ecology reveals megatooth sharks as opportunistic supercarnivores

IF 4.8 1区地球科学 Q1 GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS

Earth and Planetary Science Letters Pub Date : 2025-05-26 DOI:10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119392

Jeremy McCormack , Iris Feichtinger , Benjamin T. Fuller , Klervia Jaouen , Michael L. Griffiths , Nicolas Bourgon , Harry Maisch IV , Martin A. Becker , Jürgen Pollerspöck , Oliver Hampe , Gertrud E. Rössner , Alexandre Assemat , Wolfgang Müller , Kenshu Shimada

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

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.

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中新世海洋脊椎动物营养生态学揭示巨齿鲨是机会主义的超级食肉动物

营养相互作用在海洋脊椎动物生态学和进化中起着关键作用。然而，这些参数在化石群落中尤其难以确定。为了阐明过去的营养古生态学，我们应用锌同位素代用法对早中新世海洋生态系统中的19个分类群进行了综合分析，其中包括巨齿鲨Otodus megalodon/chubutensis。我们发现这些类群之间存在着大量的资源分配，至少有三个不同的营养位置，并且类群的体型总体上朝着食物网的顶端增加。与现代的Carcharodon carcharias相比，白鲨（Carcharodon carcharias）的祖先Carcharodon hastalis具有明显不同的营养生态，这与两种物种之间牙齿锯齿的进化增益相对应。化石组合之间的比较表明，巨齿耳鲨在种群水平上具有比以前理解的更高的饮食灵活性，这表明它们是机会主义的超级食肉动物，能够在整个食物网中觅食。

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来源期刊

Earth and Planetary Science Letters 地学-地球化学与地球物理

CiteScore

10.30

自引率

5.70%

发文量

475

审稿时长

2.8 months

期刊介绍： Earth and Planetary Science Letters (EPSL) is a leading journal for researchers across the entire Earth and planetary sciences community. It publishes concise, exciting, high-impact articles ("Letters") of broad interest. Its focus is on physical and chemical processes, the evolution and general properties of the Earth and planets - from their deep interiors to their atmospheres. EPSL also includes a Frontiers section, featuring invited high-profile synthesis articles by leading experts on timely topics to bring cutting-edge research to the wider community.