Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions

Emma R. Kast; Michael L. Griffiths; Sora L. Kim; Zixuan C. Rao; Kenshu Shimada; Martin A. Becker; Harry M. Maisch; Robert A. Eagle; Chelesia A. Clarke; Allison N. Neumann; Molly E. Karnes; Tina Lüdecke; Jennifer N. Leichliter; Alfredo Martínez-García; Alliya A. Akhtar; Xingchen T. Wang; Gerald H. Haug; Daniel M. Sigman

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abl6529

Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions

Emma R. Kast, Michael L. Griffiths, Sora L. Kim, Zixuan C. Rao, Kenshu Shimada, Martin A. Becker, Harry M. Maisch, Robert A. Eagle, Chelesia A. Clarke, Allison N. Neumann, Molly E. Karnes, Tina Lüdecke, Jennifer N. Leichliter, Alfredo Martínez-García, Alliya A. Akhtar, Xingchen T. Wang, Gerald H. Haug, Daniel M. Sigman

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35 Scopus citations

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 (δ¹⁵N_EB) 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 δ¹⁵N_EB 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. δ¹⁵N_EB 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.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	eabl6529
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	8
Issue number	25
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abl6529
State	Published - Jun 2022

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Kast, E. R., Griffiths, M. L., Kim, S. L., Rao, Z. C., Shimada, K., Becker, M. A., Maisch, H. M., Eagle, R. A., Clarke, C. A., Neumann, A. N., Karnes, M. E., Lüdecke, T., Leichliter, J. N., Martínez-García, A., Akhtar, A. A., Wang, X. T., Haug, G. H., & Sigman, D. M. (2022). Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions. Science Advances, 8(25), Article eabl6529. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abl6529

@article{c95153d3b88a45ebbd3382b58b3eed4f,

title = "Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions",

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.",

author = "Kast, {Emma R.} and Griffiths, {Michael L.} and Kim, {Sora L.} and Rao, {Zixuan C.} and Kenshu Shimada and Becker, {Martin A.} and Maisch, {Harry M.} and Eagle, {Robert A.} and Clarke, {Chelesia A.} and Neumann, {Allison N.} and Karnes, {Molly E.} and Tina L{\"u}decke and Leichliter, {Jennifer N.} and Alfredo Mart{\'i}nez-Garc{\'i}a and Akhtar, {Alliya A.} and Wang, {Xingchen T.} and Haug, {Gerald H.} and Sigman, {Daniel M.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors, some rights reserved",

year = "2022",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1126/sciadv.abl6529",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "8",

journal = "Science Advances",

issn = "2375-2548",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

number = "25",

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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 2022, 'Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions', Science Advances, vol. 8, no. 25, eabl6529. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abl6529

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions

AU - Kast, Emma R.

AU - Griffiths, Michael L.

AU - Kim, Sora L.

AU - Rao, Zixuan C.

AU - Shimada, Kenshu

AU - Becker, Martin A.

AU - Maisch, Harry M.

AU - Eagle, Robert A.

AU - Clarke, Chelesia A.

AU - Neumann, Allison N.

AU - Karnes, Molly E.

AU - Lüdecke, Tina

AU - Leichliter, Jennifer N.

AU - Martínez-García, Alfredo

AU - Akhtar, Alliya A.

AU - Wang, Xingchen T.

AU - Haug, Gerald H.

AU - Sigman, Daniel M.

PY - 2022/6

Y1 - 2022/6

N2 - 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.

AB - 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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U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.abl6529

DO - 10.1126/sciadv.abl6529

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C2 - 35731884

AN - SCOPUS:85132645541

SN - 2375-2548

VL - 8

JO - Science Advances

JF - Science Advances

IS - 25

M1 - eabl6529

ER -

Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions

Abstract

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