The mighty shark ancestor could have launched its body to the sea's surface to take a bite out of a whale.
details their examination of two fossils from the whale’s fractured vertebrae and one megalodon tooth. They used CT scans and other medical imaging techniques at a local hospital to get a closer look inside the ancient remains.
One of the vertebrae shows evidence of a compression fracture. The study proposes that the whale’s backbone must have been forcefully bent into such a tight curve, that pressure from the vertebra right next to it smashed into one another to sustain this kind of injury.Live Science“This is how we see the story unfolding. Although there are limitations to what we can claim, and we want the evidence to speak for itself.
Another possible cause of this kind of injury to the backbone could be that the whale ingested a toxic algae that caused it convulse so violently that it broke its own back. The authors, however, argue that a megalodon attack is the most likely cause due to the magnitude of the injury to the spinal column bones.
One of two associated pathological whale vertebrae found along Calvert Cliffs. The vertebra appears to be badly broken. CREDIT: The Calvert Marine Museum.The team also examined a megalodon tooth that was uncovered alongside vertebrae fossil. The tip of the tooth broke off, which could occur after it struck something hard like a bone. It also could have fallen out while swimming or feeding on an already dead or injured whale’s remains.
This Otodus megalodon tooth with a broken tip, called a spall fracture. CREDIT: The Calvert Marine Museum.The teeth of extinct sharks are a common discovery in Calvert County Maryland and they come from a wide variety of shark species, according to theGaleocerdo
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