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Kast ER, Griffiths ML, Kim SL, Rao ZC, Shimada K, Becker MA, Maisch HM, Eagle RA, Clarke CA, Neumann AN, Karnes ME, Lüdecke T, Leichliter JN, Martínez-García A, Akhtar AA, Wang XT, Haug GH, Sigman DM. Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabl6529. [PMID: 35731884 PMCID: PMC9217088 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl6529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Trophic position is a fundamental characteristic of animals, yet it is unknown in many extinct species. In this study, we ground-truth the 15N/14N ratio of enameloid-bound organic matter (δ15NEB) as a trophic level proxy by comparison to dentin collagen δ15N and apply this method to the fossil record to reconstruct the trophic level of the megatooth sharks (genus Otodus). These sharks evolved in the Cenozoic, culminating in Otodus megalodon, a shark with a maximum body size of more than 15 m, which went extinct 3.5 million years ago. Very high δ15NEB values (22.9 ± 4.4‰) of O. megalodon from the Miocene and Pliocene show that it occupied a higher trophic level than is known for any marine species, extinct or extant. δ15NEB also indicates a dietary shift in sharks of the megatooth lineage as they evolved toward the gigantic O. megalodon, with the highest trophic level apparently reached earlier than peak size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma R. Kast
- Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB23EQ, UK
| | - Michael L. Griffiths
- Department of Environmental Science, William Paterson University of New Jersey, Wayne, NJ 07470, USA
| | - Sora L. Kim
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Zixuan C. Rao
- Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Kenshu Shimada
- Department of Environmental Science and Studies, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USA
- Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS 67601, USA
| | - Martin A. Becker
- Department of Environmental Science, William Paterson University of New Jersey, Wayne, NJ 07470, USA
| | - Harry M. Maisch
- Department of Marine and Earth Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USA
| | - Robert A. Eagle
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Chelesia A. Clarke
- Department of Environmental Science, William Paterson University of New Jersey, Wayne, NJ 07470, USA
| | - Allison N. Neumann
- Department of Environmental Science, William Paterson University of New Jersey, Wayne, NJ 07470, USA
| | - Molly E. Karnes
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Tina Lüdecke
- Emmy Noether Group for Hominin Meat Consumption, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Jennifer N. Leichliter
- Emmy Noether Group for Hominin Meat Consumption, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Johannes Gutenberg University, Institute of Geosciences, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Alfredo Martínez-García
- Department of Climate Geochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Alliya A. Akhtar
- Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Xingchen T. Wang
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
| | - Gerald H. Haug
- Department of Climate Geochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel M. Sigman
- Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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Villafaña JA, Marramà G, Klug S, Pollerspöck J, Balsberger M, Rivadeneira M, Kriwet J. Sharks, rays and skates (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the Upper Marine Molasse (middle Burdigalian, early Miocene) of the Simssee area (Bavaria, Germany), with comments on palaeogeographic and ecological patterns. PALAONTOLOGISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT 2020; 94:725-757. [PMID: 33184517 PMCID: PMC7648011 DOI: 10.1007/s12542-020-00518-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Elasmobranch remains are quite common in Miocene deposits and were the subject of numerous studies since the middle of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, the taxonomic diversity of the Marine Molasse sharks, rays and skates is still largely unknown. Here, we describe 37 taxa from the lower Miocene of the Molasse Basin: 21 taxa could be identified at species level, whereas 15 taxa could only be assigned to genus and one taxon is left as order incertae sedis. The material was collected from deposits of the Auwiesholz Member of the Achen Formation (middle Burdigalian, middle Ottnangian age, ca. 17.8 Ma) exposed near Simssee, Upper Bavaria. This faunal assemblage is a mixture of shallow marine, near-coastal, pelagic and deep-water taxa. The fauna from Simssee displays different biogeographic dynamics at local and regional scales, possibly related to the intense climatic, oceanographic and tectonic events that occurred during the Eggenburgian-Ottnangian stages. The faunal relationships of the early Miocene chondrichthyan faunas from the Mediterranean Sea and Paratethys with others regions are established on the basis of qualitative (presence/absence) data. The beta diversity (Sørensen-Dice coefficient) of the Miocene Molasse elasmobranchs was used to characterize the taxonomic differentiation between localities and regions. According to our results, the fauna from Simssee shows close similarities with those from Switzerland, Austria, France and northern Germany. Faunal similarities and differences are mainly related to tectonic events and oceanographic variables (i.e. migration through seaway passages) or might represent collecting biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime A. Villafaña
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Centro de Investigación en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago, Chile
| | - Giuseppe Marramà
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso, 35, 10125 Torino, Italy
| | - Stefanie Klug
- School of Science (GAUSS), Georg–August University, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | | | | | - Marcelo Rivadeneira
- Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas, Av. Ossandon 877, Coquimbo, Chile
- Departamento de Biología Marina, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile
| | - Jürgen Kriwet
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
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