{"id":54482,"date":"2025-11-25T17:59:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T22:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/this-huge-ocean-beast-shifts-sharks-evolutionary-timeline\/25\/11\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T17:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T22:59:16","slug":"this-huge-ocean-beast-shifts-sharks-evolutionary-timeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/this-huge-ocean-beast-shifts-sharks-evolutionary-timeline\/25\/11\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"This Huge Ocean Beast Shifts Sharks\u2019 Evolutionary Timeline"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span class=\"dropcap\">I<\/span>f you were traversing the ancient Tethys ocean some 115 million years ago and encountered gigantic lamniform sharks, you\u2019d most definitely need a bigger boat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Lamniformes, an order of sharks that includes the great white of <em>Jaws<\/em> infamy, evolved around 135 million years ago and may have begun as wee, shallow water-dwelling creatures\u2014around 3 feet long. But over time, they evolved into massive, fearsome fish that ruled the world\u2019s oceans, for example the extinct megalodon that might have surpassed 50 feet long.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Previous evidence suggested that lamniformes swelled in size to hit the top of the marine food chain around 100 million years ago. Now, fossilized vertebrae found in Australia push this timeline back some 15 million years. These vertebrae appear to have belonged to a type of lamniform called a cardabiodontid, a hefty mega-predatory shark that swam among huge marine reptile neighbors such as plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs while dinosaurs roamed land.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><strong>SHARK SPINE: <\/strong>Fossilized vertebrae belonging to a massive, 115-million-year old shark. <em>Photo by Mikael Siversson.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This ancient ocean beast weighed more than 3 tons and measured between around 20 and 26 feet long, scientists <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s42003-025-08930-y\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:reported;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">reported<\/a> in <em>Communications Biology<\/em>. According to statistical analysis of data from almost 2,000 modern sharks, the authors suggest that this ancient shark ballooned in size relatively early in its evolutionary history, about 20 million years after lamniformes emerged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThis discovery changes the timeline for when sharks started getting really big,\u201d said study author Mikael Siversson, a paleontologist at the Western Australian Museum, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/visit.museum.wa.gov.au\/learn\/news-stories\/ancient-super-sharks-australian-fossils-rewrite-shark-evolution\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:statement;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">statement<\/a>. \u201cIt turns out, they evolved a giant body size much earlier than we originally thought and were already top predators in shallow seas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Read more: \u201c<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nautil.us\/youre-gonna-need-a-bigger-light-1162536\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:You\u2019re Going to Need a Bigger Light;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong>You\u2019re Going to Need a Bigger Light<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The cardabiodontid vertebrae were discovered at a dig site called the Darwin Formation in northern Australia, which was once part of a shallow shelf bordering the Tethys ocean that sat between modern-day Australia and Europe. The same site has also revealed ancient marine reptiles, ray-finned fish, and other types of sharks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The shark fossils were a rare find: Their skeletons are made of rubbery cartilage and don\u2019t tend to stick around, so most known shark remnants are teeth. But these vertebrae were partially mineralized, keeping them relatively well preserved over the millennia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Overall, the recent cardabiodontid findings reveal \u201ca lot about how ancient food webs worked\u201d Siversson said, and show \u201cjust how important Australia\u2019s fossil sites are for understanding prehistoric life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Enjoying\u00a0 <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nautil.us\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Nautilus;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Nautilus<\/a><em>? Subscribe to our free <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nautil.us\/newsletter\/?_sp=c43011db-6fcf-42f2-a38c-e033b87a4a1d.1759265717430\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>newsletter<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Lead image: Polyanna von Knorring, Swedish Museum of Natural History<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This story was originally featured on <a href=\"https:\/\/nautil.us\/this-huge-ocean-beast-shifts-sharks-evolutionary-timeline-1250168\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Nautilus;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Nautilus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/huge-ocean-beast-shifts-sharks-220000017.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you were traversing the ancient Tethys ocean some 115 million years ago and encountered gigantic lamniform sharks, you&rsquo;d most definitely need<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/this-huge-ocean-beast-shifts-sharks-evolutionary-timeline\/25\/11\/2025\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nautilus_articles_455\/6a4649e50a505b6b9bd49bdae7611ce5","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54482"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}