A team of researchers has managed to gain new insight into the food preferences of a long extinct species of shark known as the megalodon.
Having examined fossilized skulls of whales that lived millions years ago during the late Miocene period and noticing a certain pattern of shark bite on them, the team concluded that the megalodon, as well as other ancient sharks, seemed keen to feast on the noses of sperm whales, according to Live Science.
In their study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers note that, just like their extant relatives, the sperm whales of the Miocene period “exhibited enlarged fatty forehead organs responsible for their sound production capabilities,” and the bite marks found on the whales’ skulls indicate that sharks targeted that particular area.
Aldo Benites-Palomino, doctoral candidate at the Paleontological Museum of the University of Zurich and lead author of the study, said that many sharks were actually “using these sperm whales as a fat repository."
"In a single specimen, I think that we have at least five or six species of sharks all biting the same region — which is insane," he said as quoted by the media outlet.
The researchers also note that sharks today no longer dine on sperm whales, and it is not immediately clear when their eating habits changed.