Did the giant extinct shark Carcharocles megalodon target small prey? Bite marks on marine mammal remains from the late Miocene of Peru

Collareta, Alberto; Lambert, Olivier; Landini, Walter; Celma, Claudio Di; Malinverno, Elisa; Varas-Malca, Rafael M.; Urbina, Mario; Bianucci, Giovanni

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.01.001

Cited by 72 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Evidence of predation on cetaceans by Carcharocles spp. (Purdy et al, 2001;Aguilera et al, 2008;Collareta et al, 2017;Godfrey et al, 2018;Kent, 2018) and the conspicuous increase of body size in cetaceans since the Oligocene (Pyenson and Sponberg, 2011;Slater et al, 2011Slater et al, , 2017 supports the idea of an evolutionary driver for the overall shift in tooth functional morphology from Otodus obliquus to Carcharocles megalodon. However, the reduced and rounded lateral cusplets of C. chubutensis would likely not have functioned for either grasping or filling of a tooth gap, which makes it difficult to evoke an evolutionary driver for the loss of lateral cusplets from C. chubutensis to C. megalodon.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Cetaceans also exhibit an increase in body size beginning in the Oligocene (Pyenson and Sponberg, 2011;Slater et al, 2011), coincident with the apparent increase in Carcharocles tooth size. A number of studies have documented evidence of predation on cetaceans by Carcharocles megalodon (Deméré and Cerutti, 1982;Purdy et al, 2001;Renz, 2002;Godfrey and Altman, 2005;Aguilera et al, 2008;Kallal et al, 2010;Collareta et al, 2017;Godfrey et al, 2018;Kent, 2018), which leaves little doubt that the development of tooth morphology in the Carcharocles lineage is closely tied to the evolution of cetaceans, but this does not fully explain the role of lateral cusplets.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The transition betweenCarcharocles chubutensisandCarcharocles megalodon(Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes): lateral cusplet loss through time

Pérez

Godfrey

Kent

et al. 2018

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

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The teeth of two megatooth macro-predatory shark species (Carcharocles chubutensis and Carcharocles megalodon; Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes) occur within the Miocene Chesapeake Group of Maryland, U.S.A. Definitive separation between all the teeth of Carcharocles chubutensis and Carcharocles megalodon is impossible because a complex mosaic evolutionary continuum characterizes this transformation, particularly in the loss of lateral cusplets. The cuspleted and uncuspleted teeth of Carcharocles spp. are designated as chronomorphs because there is wide overlap between them both morphologically and chronologically. In the lower Miocene Beds (Shattuck Zones) 2-9 of the Calvert Formation (representing approximately 3.2 million years, 20.2-17 Ma, Burdigalian) both cuspleted and uncuspleted teeth are present, but cuspleted teeth predominate, constituting approximately 87% of the Carcharocles spp. teeth represented in our sample. However, in the middle Miocene Beds 10-16A of the Calvert Formation (representing approximately 2.4 million years, 16.4-14 Ma, Langhian), there is a steady increase in the proportion of uncuspleted Carcharocles teeth. In the upper Miocene Beds 21-24 of the St. Marys Formation (representing approximately 2.8 million years, 10.4-7.6 Ma, Tortonian), lateral cusplets are nearly absent in Carcharocles teeth from our study area, with only a single specimen bearing lateral cusplets. The dental transition between Carcharocles chubutensis and Carcharocles megalodon occurs within the Miocene Chesapeake Group. Although this study helps to elucidate the timing of lateral cusplet loss in Carcharocles locally, the rationale for this prolonged evolutionary transition remains unclear.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The transition betweenCarcharocles chubutensisandCarcharocles megalodon(Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes): lateral cusplet loss through time

Pérez

Godfrey

Kent

et al. 2018

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

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“…It is thought that the increased productivity, patchiness and prey densities that resulted from Plio-Pliestocene ocean dynamics provided mysticetes with an evolutionary pathway towards greater body sizes (Slater et al, 2017). Interestingly, a large raptorial shark predator, Carcharocles megalodon, apparently went extinct at this same climatic transition in deep time (Collareta et al, 2017;Pimiento and Clements, 2014), which may have provided release from predation and further facilitated gigantism in mysticetes. Alternatively, resistance to predation could have been a driver for larger body sizes in baleen whales.…”

Section: Potential Drivers Of Gigantism In Baleen Whalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of foraging capacity and gigantism in cetaceans

Goldbogen

Madsen

2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

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The extant diversity and rich fossil record of cetaceans provides an extraordinary evolutionary context for investigating the relationship between form, function and ecology. The transition from terrestrial to marine ecosystems is associated with a complex suite of morphological and physiological adaptations that were required for a fully aquatic mammalian life history. Two specific functional innovations that characterize the two great clades of cetaceans, echolocation in toothed whales (Odontoceti) and filter feeding in baleen whales (Mysticeti), provide a powerful comparative framework for integrative studies. Both clades exhibit gigantism in multiple species, but we posit that large body size may have evolved for different reasons and in response to different ecosystem conditions. Although these foraging adaptations have been studied using a combination of experimental and tagging studies, the precise functional drivers and consequences of morphological change within and among these lineages remain less understood. Future studies that focus at the interface of physiology, ecology and paleontology will help elucidate how cetaceans became the largest predators in aquatic ecosystems worldwide.

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“…Furthermore, Sr-isotope analyses yielded an age of ca. 7.30 Ma for the MTM vertebrate level, whereas the AGL vertebrate level was younger than 7.46 Ma, which in turn represents the estimated age of the beds just above the ELJ vertebrate level (Ehret et al, 2012) (see also Lambert and de Muizon (2013), Collareta et al (2017a), and Lambert et al (2017) for a discussion about the chronostratigraphic framework of the Pisco Formation cropping out in the Aguada de Lomas valley). Therefore, embracing these recent age estimates, and accounting also for the rather wide confidence intervals associated with the strontium-ratio analyses on shells provided by Ehret et al (2012), it appears that MUSM 888 should be latest Tortonian or early to mid-Messinian in age.…”

Section: Geographical and Stratigraphical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

<i>Koristocetus pescei</i> gen. et sp. nov., a diminutive sperm whale (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae) from the late Miocene of Peru

Collareta

Lambert

Muizon³

et al. 2017

Foss. Rec.

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Abstract. Among odontocetes, members of the family Kogiidae (pygmy and dwarf sperm whales) are known as smallsized and in many respects enigmatic relatives of the great sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus. Most of the still scanty fossil record of Kogiidae is represented by isolated skulls and ear bones from Neogene deposits of the Northern Hemisphere, with the significant exception of Scaphokogia, a highly autapomorphic genus from late Miocene deposits of the Pisco Formation exposed along the southern coast of Peru. Here we report on a new fossil kogiid from Aguada de Lomas, a site where the late Miocene beds of the Pisco Formation are exposed. This specimen consists of an almost complete cranium representing a new taxon of Kogiidae: Koristocetus pescei gen. et sp. nov. Koristocetus mainly differs from extant Kogia spp. by displaying a larger temporal fossa and well-individualized dental alveoli on the upper jaws. Coupled with a relatively elongated rostrum, these characters suggest that Koristocetus retained some degree of raptorial feeding abilities, contrasting with the strong suction feeding specialization seen in Recent kogiids. Our phylogenetic analysis recognizes Koristocetus as the earliest branching member of the subfamily Kogiinae. Interestingly, Koristocetus shared the southern coast of present-day Peru with members of the genus Scaphokogia, whose unique convex rostrum and unusual neurocranial morphology seemingly indicate a peculiar foraging specialization that has still to be understood. In conclusion, Koristocetus evokes a long history of high diversity, morphological disparity, and sympatric habits in fossil kogiids, thus suggesting that our comprehension of the evolutionary history of pygmy and dwarf sperm whales is still far from being exhaustive.

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Did the giant extinct shark Carcharocles megalodon target small prey? Bite marks on marine mammal remains from the late Miocene of Peru

Cited by 72 publications

References 41 publications

The transition betweenCarcharocles chubutensisandCarcharocles megalodon(Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes): lateral cusplet loss through time

The transition betweenCarcharocles chubutensisandCarcharocles megalodon(Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes): lateral cusplet loss through time

The evolution of foraging capacity and gigantism in cetaceans

<i>Koristocetus pescei</i> gen. et sp. nov., a diminutive sperm whale (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae) from the late Miocene of Peru

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Did the giant extinct shark Carcharocles megalodon target small prey? Bite marks on marine mammal remains from the late Miocene of Peru

Cited by 72 publications

References 41 publications

The transition betweenCarcharocles chubutensisandCarcharocles megalodon(Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes): lateral cusplet loss through time

The transition betweenCarcharocles chubutensisandCarcharocles megalodon(Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes): lateral cusplet loss through time

The evolution of foraging capacity and gigantism in cetaceans

&lt;i&gt;Koristocetus pescei&lt;/i&gt; gen. et sp. nov., a diminutive sperm whale (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae) from the late Miocene of Peru

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<i>Koristocetus pescei</i> gen. et sp. nov., a diminutive sperm whale (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae) from the late Miocene of Peru