Some fossilized tooth from giant ancient megalodon shark have alone loot on them . These scratches , researcher believe , were possibly due to the serrate turn out edge of other megalodon teeth , suggesting that these prehistorical leviathans may have part with with one another .

Many people have probably listen ofmegalodon(Otodus megalodon ) by this level , given the winner ofThe MegandMeg 2 : The Trench . These tremendous predators , which were recall to grow to around 19.8 meters ( 65 feet ) in length , roll the macrocosm ’s sea until they went extinct around 3.6 million years ago .

Because of the achiever of this Hollywood depiction , megalodon is often thought to have resembled a gargantuan great lily-white shark , but recent enquiry has evince that it was likely less chunky and moreelongated – more like a carrot than a Irish potato . late research has also suggested that Meg was possiblywarm - bloodedas well , which may have bring to its eventual defunctness .

It seems we are now learn more and more about how this unbelievable species live and , according to a new bailiwick , how they may have interact .

According to a short account , some fossilized megalodon tooth have marks on them that could have only been produced by other sharks .

Megalodon tooth are the largest shark dentition ever see and have knifelike serrate edges . So when these sharks burn marine mammals , such as whales , their teeth pass on distinct marks in their finger cymbals . Researchers discover evidence of the same marks on four megalodon tooth recovered from fossil web site in North and South Carolina .

One of these tooth has scrawl Gospel According to Mark that are perpendicular in sexual relation to its length , which could not have been produced accidentally by a shark bite in a direction that damaged its own tooth .

“ We do not make out under what circumstances any of theO. megalodonteeth described herein came to be mark by anotherO. megalodontooth . One might guess that the simplest way to calculate forO. megalodon - bittenO. megalodonteeth would be that two teeth in opposing jaws chance on each other during occlusion , the serrate edit border of one denounce the other ” , the team indite .

“ However , in lamniform sharks [ of which megalodon belonged ] , the upper jaw protrudes beyond the lower jaw to such an extent that this would be unlikely . ”

The team elevate various potential explanations for how these teeth may have been marked . first of all , the dentition may have remained in the shark ’s mouth after being dislodged . In this situation , the dislodged teeth could have then been struck and cross out by an “ in situ occluding tooth ” .

“ Some extant shark specie will ingest their own teeth , possibly unintentionally or as an knowing means of recycling the calcium phosphate ” , the squad explained .

Another explanation is that dentition were pock by the same animal after it bit into its prey . It is possible the teeth became shift in the flesh of its repast , and then its own teeth scratch up against the single it lost .

But the last possibility is the most intriguing : were megalodons fight one another with their tooth ?

“ [ W]e envision the theory of an antagonistic skirmish between twoO. megalodon , perhaps during a territorial dispute to lay down a eating hierarchy , a feeding frenzy , over mating rights , simple aggression , or during the act of cannibalism , either from active predation or scavenging , in which one individual forcefully sting the jaws of its rival [ … ] mark the receiving tooth as part of that sequence ” , the squad say .

The authors mark that great white sharks will engage in jaw - to - jaw aggressiveness that may be the result of territorial aggression or mating disputes .

“ While this behavior is not well document in the publish literature , footage of this demeanor has been captured , admit in the National Geographic documentary ‘ Cannibal Sharks ’ ” , they supply .

So while it may not be potential to say for certain what do these strange mark , their universe peradventure represents a miscellanea of behaviour that are worthy of additional subject field regarding the life and environmental science of these epical monster .

The newspaper is bring out in the journalActa Palaeontologica Polonica .

[ H / TNew Scientist ]