First evidence of a palaeo-nursery area of the great white shark
Autor: | Jürgen Kriwet, Catalina Pimiento, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, Sebastián Hernández, Jaime A. Villafaña, Alonso Alvarado, Kenshu Shimada |
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Přispěvatelé: | University of Zurich, Villafaña, Jaime A |
Rok vydání: | 2020 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Male 010506 paleontology food.ingredient lcsh:Medicine 10125 Paleontological Institute and Museum Body size 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Article food biology.animal Animals Body Size lcsh:Science Deep time Ecosystem 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Apex predator Marine biology 1000 Multidisciplinary Multidisciplinary biology Fossils Palaeontology lcsh:R biology.organism_classification Carcharias Carcharodon Fishery Great white shark Geography 560 Fossils & prehistoric life Habitat South american Sharks lcsh:Q Female Tooth |
Zdroj: | Scientific Reports Scientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2020) |
ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
Popis: | Shark nurseries are essential habitats for shark survival. Notwithstanding the rich fossil record of the modern great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias, GWS), its use of nursery areas in the fossil record has never been assessed before. Here, we analysed the fossil record of the GWS from three South American Pliocene localities, assessed body size distributions and applied previously established criteria to identify palaeo-nurseries. We found that juveniles dominate the Coquimbo locality (Chile), whereas subadults and adults characterize Pisco (Peru) and Caldera (Chile), respectively. These results, summed to the paleontological and paleoenvironmental record of the region, suggest that Coquimbo represents the first nursery area for the GWS in the fossil record. Our findings demonstrate that one of the top predators in today’s oceans has used nursery areas for millions of years, highlighting their importance as essential habitats for shark survival in deep time. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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