A paper published Tuesday details the first-of-its-kind predation of a porbeagle shark anywhere in the world.
Porbeagle sharks can grow up to 12 feet in length while they patrol the Northwest Atlantic ocean (and parts of the Southern Hemisphere), according to Live Science. They’re a threatened species, so pop-off satellite archival tags (PSATs) are used to monitor their movements and behavior, according to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.
You can only imagine how surprised scientists studying these data were when one pregnant porbeagle shark started acting strangely near Bermuda. The PSATs tag “continued to descend and ascend in the water column while the temperature remained approximately 5°C above ambient levels, even at several hundred meters in depth, indicating ingestion.” (RELATED: Scientists Discover Shark Species With Humanlike Teeth)
The big ole porbeagle was eaten by something. But what could eat an already big shark?
A really big shark got gobbled up by another, massive shark in 1st known case of its kind https://t.co/4R7UtMpNGI
— Live Science (@LiveScience) September 3, 2024
An absolutely massive shark.
“The predation of one of our pregnant porbeagles was an unexpected discovery,” lead author Brooke Anderson said in a statement shared by Live Science. “We often think of large sharks as being apex predators. But with technological advancements, we have started to discover that large predator interactions could be even more complex than previously thought.” (RELATED: Insane Fossil Details Gruesome Death Of Ancient Animal)
The location of the likely predation and elevated temperatures at lower depths suggest potential predators, like the great white and shortfin mako sharks. Scientists are leaning toward a great white as the murderer, as the movement of the PSAT inside the predator’s stomach is more indicative of their behavior.
I think they’re gonna need a bigger PSAT.