The ocean covers the huge area of \u200b\u200bthe Earth’s surface and is a home for an incredible number of species: some of them flourish today, others are unknown to science, and others have long died out. Megalodones belong to the last group and are considered the largest marine predators of all time, holding the ocean in fear, writes IFLSCIENCE.

It is known that the ancient megalodons (Otodus Megalodon) reached the incredible 19.8 meters in length and plowed the world ocean until about 3.6 million years ago died out. Due to the success of the Hollywood image of Megalodon, he is often considered like a huge large white shark, but a recent study showed that the ancient predator was probably less thick and had a more elongated body. Previously, scientists also suggested that megalodones were probably warm -blooded, which contributed to the extinction of the species.

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Megalodon's teeth are the largest teeth of sharks ever found by geologists. They have jagged edges, which allowed predators to break their prey into parts. Such a drawing on the teeth left characteristic distinct marks on the bones of prey, for example, whales - this allowed scientists to study the diet of prehistoric predators.

In a new study, scientists also discovered evidence of the same marks on four Megalodon teeth found in fossil plots in North and South Carolina. According to a short report, on some fossilized teeth of Megalodon there are marks that could be left only by other sharks.

The authors of the study do not know under what circumstances the marks of one megalodon were on the teeth of another predator, but they suggest that this was done during the bite. In its work, the team put forward several possible scenarios for applying such marks.

Firstly, the teeth could remain in the mouth of the sharks after they were knocked out. In this situation, the knocked out teeth could then be affected and marked with a " Note that some modern species of sharks swallow their own teeth, but scientists still do not know why. It is assumed that this can be a deliberate way of processing calcium phosphate, or it happens unintentional.

Secondly, the teeth could be marked with the same animals after it was bitten by prey. Perhaps the teeth were knocked out in the flesh of his food, and then his own teeth were scratched about those that he lost.

The third possible script is perhaps the most curious: scientists believe that megalodons could fight each other's teeth. The authors of the study suggest an antagonistic clash between two megalodones, possibly during a territorial dispute, nutrition or the struggle for the right to mating. Such reasons such as: an act of aggression, an act of cannibalism, active predation or eating fell no less likely..

By the way, large white sharks can participate in the jaw to the jaw in aggression, which may be the result of territorial aggression or disputes for mating. However, scientists note that this behavior is not too well documented, but scientists have its personnel.

Previously, Focus wrote that scientists find out how Megalodon actually looked like.