7-6 Otodus megalodon-bitten fossil sperm whale teeth from Venice, Sarasota County, Florida, USA

Session: Undergraduate Research, Part I (Posters)

Poster Booth No.: 6

Presenting Author:

Michael Ryan

Authors:

Ryan, Michael M.¹, Bapst, Conner W.², McCormack, Jeremy ³, Becker, Martin A.⁴, Griffiths, Michael L.⁵, Shimada, Kenshu⁶, Maisch, Harry M.⁷

(1) Department of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, USA, (2) Department of Health and Human Services, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, USA, (3) Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany, (4) Department of Environmental Science, William Paterson University of New Jersey, Wayne, New Jersey, USA, (5) Department of Environmental Science, William Paterson University of New Jersey, Wayne, New Jersey, USA, (6) Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Environmental Science and Studies, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, USA, (7) Department of Marine and Earth Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, USA,

Abstract:

Two isolated sperm whale teeth (Physeteroidea indet.) containing well-preserved Knethichnus parallelum- and Linichnus serratus-type bite marks were collected from the Peace River and Tamiami formations (upper Miocene–lower Pliocene) near Venice, Sarasota County, Florida, USA. These bite marks consist of large, regularly serrated scrapes and elongate scratches on the exterior cementum surfaces of the physeterid teeth and are attributable to teeth belonging to the megatooth shark, Otodus megalodon. The bitten sperm whale teeth documented in this study represent the first case of bite marks preserved on fossil whale teeth decisively identified to O. megalodon known globally. The physeterid teeth have distinctly different morphologies and sizes that likely reflect taxonomic and ontogenetic differences, indicating that O. megalodon actively preyed upon or scavenged a variety of cetaceans during the late Cenozoic. Taphonomic processes in the shallow marine environment are further analyzed to interpret preservational biases of physeterid teeth and co-occurring evidence of scavenging or predation. While these bitten whale tooth specimens could represent chance occurrences of megalodon-cetacean interactions, the possibility exists that O. megalodon may have preyed upon or scavenged physeterids as an important food source to exploit elevated concentrations of energy-rich lipids contained in the cranial region of these odontocetes. As such, these bitten whale teeth provide additional insights into the paleoecology of shark-cetacean interactions in the high productivity, Neogene shallow marine environment occurring along the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains of the USA.

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