If you've ever wondered why the giant
shark megalodon went extinct... scientists may have an answer.
They think the megalodon likely had to
compete with the great white shark for prey and the great white won the battle
for survival.
The megalodon lived more than 23 million years ago and was almost four times the size of the great whites we see cruising our oceans
today.
However in the fight for food...it lost
out.
Scientists arrived at that finding using a
new technique that looks at zinc levels contained in the teeth of dozens of
shark species to see where each shark fit in the food chain.
Zinc plays a crucial role in bone
development and preserves a record in the teeth of what kind of prey was
consumed.
Scientists believe both great whites and
megalodon sharks feasted on
large fish.
But the smaller sized great whites didn't
require as much food to survive, giving them a competitive advantage.