A pregnant 7-foot-long porbeagle shark has likely been eaten by a much larger shark, in what researchers believe is the first evidence of the ocean's hunters becoming the hunted.
The researchers captured the porbeagle shark near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in late October 2020 and fitted it with two tracking tags: one attached to the shark's dorsal fin and transmitting location information, and the other, called a pop-off satellite archival tag (PSAT), measures underwater temperatures and the shark's depth, the scientists wrote in a paper published in the journal Nature on Tuesday. The forefront of marine science.
The PSAT is designed to separate from the shark after about a year, but in this case the device became detached near Bermuda about five months later.
“Something went terribly wrong,” said Brooke Anderson, one of the researchers. NBC News.
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New research suggests that a pregnant seven-foot-long porbeagle shark was eaten by a much larger shark, a first for scientists who say it's the first time such a case has occurred. (iStock)
Data collected from the shark showed that its diving patterns had become erratic in the days before the tag was removed, and its body temperature readings were elevated, even though it had been swimming deep enough where temperatures would have been cooler, according to the study.
Using this data, the researchers determined that the tags had spent several days inside the stomachs of other animals. Mammals like killer whales were ruled out because of their high temperature readings, and the scientists focused on warm-blooded sharks.
Scientists believe that mako sharks, like the one pictured above, and great white sharks may be large enough to eat porbeagle sharks. (Maddy Meyer Getty Images, File)
“The data presented in this study are, to our knowledge, the first evidence of predation on porbeagle sharks and provide new insights into the interspecific interactions of this globally vulnerable large shark species,” the study states.
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The researchers speculated that the ocean's apex predator became prey for a larger shark, as only two species of shark — the great white and the mako — are large enough to eat a 7-foot-long pregnant shark, the researchers said.
“We're seeing a lot of changes in the ocean,” said James Sulikowski, director of Oregon State University's Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment, who also worked on the study. USA Today The study shows that the ocean still has many mysteries that scientists want to uncover.
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“It made me want to do more research and find out how susceptible other large sharks are to being eaten and which sharks are the strongest,” he said.
