Дани улсын музейн нүүдлийн үеэр 30 гаруй жилийн турш сураггүй алга болсон мегалодон аварга загасны чулуужсан яс дахин олдсон нь эрдэмтдийн анхаарлыг татаж байна.
1970-аад оны сүүлчээр Дани улсын Грам хотын шавран хөрснөөс олдсон энэхүү яс нь 23 см-ийн диаметртэй бөгөөд шинжлэх ухаанд мэдэгдэж буй загасны хамгийн том нурууны яс юм. Копенгагены Геологийн музейд хадгалагдаж байсан энэ олдвор 1989 онд музейн нүүдлийн үеэр алга болсон ч эрдэмтэд өмнө нь хийсэн хэмжилт, гэрэл зурагт тулгуурлан судалгаагаа үргэлжлүүлсээр иржээ. Одоо олдсон уг ясыг дахин шинжилснээр өмнөх судалгааны өгөгдлүүд үнэн зөв болохыг баталлаа.
Эрдэмтдийн “Palaeontologia Electronica” сэтгүүлд нийтэлсэн судалгаагаар, энэхүү ясны хэмжээ нь мегалодон загас 24.3 метр хүртэл урттай байсан гэх 2025 оны таамгийг дэмжиж байна. Рентген шинжилгээгээр тус аварга загасыг 64 орчим настайдаа үхсэн бөгөөд 96 хүртэл наслах боломжтой байсныг тогтоожээ. Түүнчлэн ясны эргэн тойрны чулуулагт хадгалагдан үлдсэн жижиг хайрс болон заламгайн үлдэгдэл нь мегалодон загасны хоол боловсруулах эрхтэн дэх идэш тэжээлийн анхны баримт болж байна.
Мегалодон нь мөгөөрсөн ястай тул бүтэн араг яс олдох нь нэн ховор бөгөөд ихэнх судалгаа нь шүд болон цөөн тооны ясны үлдэгдэлд тулгуурладаг. Иймд энэхүү олдвор нь эртний аварга загасны биеийн бүтэц, хэмжээг тодорхойлоход чухал ач холбогдолтой юм. Хэдийгээр одоогийн тооцооллууд нь тодорхой хэмжээний таамаглал агуулж байгаа ч энэхүү олдвор нь мегалодоныг судлах шинжлэх ухааны нотолгоог улам бэхжүүлж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
One of the most important megalodon fossils ever discovered has turned up again after being lost for more than 30 years during a museum move. The rediscovered vertebra confirms earlier measurements that helped reshape estimates of the giant shark’s size.
The fossil was part of a collection unearthed from a clay pit in Gram, Denmark, in the late 1970s. It was later stored at the Geological Museum of Copenhagen, where researchers photographed and measured the vertebrae before the collection disappeared during a move in 1989. Although the fossils were missing, the records made before they vanished continued to play a major role in megalodon research.
That is because one vertebra stood out from the rest. Measuring 23 centimeters in diameter, it is the largest megalodon vertebra ever found and, according to the researchers, the largest fish vertebra known to science. Those measurements later became part of the evidence used to estimate just how large the prehistoric shark could have grown.
A Missing Fossil With A Big Scientific Impact
For decades, scientists had no choice but to rely on old photographs and measurements because the original fossils could not be examined. Their rediscovery has now confirmed that those records were accurate.
“The rediscovery of the vertebrae was a true delight because they empirically confirm the maximum vertebral diameter of 23 cm reported in the literature,” said Kenshu Shimada of DePaul University. He added that the specimen “represents the largest shark vertebrae known to date but also the largest fish vertebrae ever recorded to our knowledge.”
The latest research, published in Palaeontologia Electronica, said that the rediscovered fossil supports the measurements used in a 2025 study that estimated a maximum body length of 24.3 meters for megalodon specimens with vertebrae of this size.
Why Estimating Megalodon’s Size Is So Difficult
Working out the true size of megalodon has never been straightforward. Unlike whales or dinosaurs, sharks have skeletons made mostly of cartilage, which rarely survives in the fossil record.
As the researchers pointed out, most megalodon fossils are isolated teeth. Even the giant jaws displayed in museums are reconstructions built from the limited remains that have been found. That means scientists have had to estimate the shark’s body length by comparing it with living shark species.
Older studies generally suggested a maximum length of 14 to 18 meters. A 2021 study increased that estimate to 20 meters, while research published in 2022 used 3D modeling to revise the estimated size of a Belgian specimen from 9.2 meters to 15.9 meters.
Then, in 2024, a team that included Shimada argued that megalodon probably had a slimmer body than previously thought. Based on the structure of its spine, they suggested the shark was better suited to long-distance swimming than ambush hunting.
“Although some additional assumptions have gone into the estimated length, the rediscovery of the vertebrae from Denmark eliminates any doubts about the maximum vertebral diameter of 23 centimeters that has been critical for the 24.3-meter length estimate,”Mette Elstrup, a paleontologist at the Museum of Southern Jutland, said in a release.
Even so, the researchers stress that these figures remain estimates because no complete megalodon skeleton has ever been discovered.
Hidden Clues Inside The Ancient Vertebra
The rediscovered vertebra turned out to hold more information than its size alone. Using X-ray imaging, researchers examined growth bands preserved within the cartilage and estimated that the shark was around 64 years old when it died. Their analysis also suggests it could have lived to about 96 years, potentially growing even larger.
The authors caution that both the age and size estimates should be treated carefully because they are based on incomplete remains and several major assumptions. The surrounding rock revealed another surprise.
Researchers found fragmentary gill structures and tiny scales belonging to a basking shark preserved in the surrounding rock.
“I was surprised to discover many scales of a fossilbasking sharkunder a microscope. This led my research team to interpret the basking shark remains to represent megalodon’s stomach content,” Shimada said.
Mikael Siversson of the Western Australian Museum called it the first documented evidence of stomach contents in the megalodon fossil record.
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