Scientists have formed a new hypothesis according to which the megalodon disappeared. They published their works in the Journal of Biogeography. The largest shark lived on Earth about 2.6 million years ago. Previously, scientists suggested that climatic changes could be the reason for the disappearance of the shark.
Experts at the University of Zurich are confident that the extinction of the species was due to the emergence of competitors and the lack of a wide variety of sharks. Scientists made their guesses by studying the remains of sharks. In the beginning, predators lived in the northern seas, off the coast of Europe and in the Indian Ocean. Sharks had their peak of development about 16 million years ago.
Scientists have not been able to find evidence that megalodons could have disappeared from climate change. In warm periods, sharks did not increase their popularity, which negatively affected the vitality of the population.
The lack of an adequate diet also contributed to the decline in the population. Great white sharks and killer whales have had a profound impact on the megalodon habitat. For food, you need to have a huge amount of food, but the considerable size of sharks did not allow them to compete with new predators.