* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Monday, August 4, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Hank Hill returns to a changed world in new ‘King of the Hill’ episodes – New Haven Register

    Hank Hill Navigates a Bold New World in Thrilling New ‘King of the Hill’ Episodes

    Exclusive | Fox Takes Stake in IndyCar Owner Penske Entertainment – The Wall Street Journal

    Exclusive | Fox Takes Stake in IndyCar Owner Penske Entertainment – The Wall Street Journal

    Go-to entertainment: why gaming was made for the toilet – The Guardian

    Why Gaming Is the Ultimate Way to Pass Time in the Bathroom

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    How Tech Firms Like Google and Meta Are Embracing the Military – The New York Times

    How Tech Firms Like Google and Meta Are Embracing the Military – The New York Times

    Credo Technology: Wiring The AI Revolution (NASDAQ:CRDO) – Seeking Alpha

    Credo Technology: Driving the Next Wave of AI Innovation

    Microsoft Seeks to Extend Access to OpenAI Technology – PYMNTS.com

    Microsoft Aims to Broaden Access to OpenAI Technology

    Livonia police use grappler technology to stop drunk driver – ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4

    Livonia Police Deploy Grappler Technology to Safely Stop Drunk Driver

    Emory orthopaedic surgeons use robotic technology to transform knee replacement surgery – Emory News Center

    How Robotic Technology is Revolutionizing Knee Replacement Surgery

    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Hank Hill returns to a changed world in new ‘King of the Hill’ episodes – New Haven Register

    Hank Hill Navigates a Bold New World in Thrilling New ‘King of the Hill’ Episodes

    Exclusive | Fox Takes Stake in IndyCar Owner Penske Entertainment – The Wall Street Journal

    Exclusive | Fox Takes Stake in IndyCar Owner Penske Entertainment – The Wall Street Journal

    Go-to entertainment: why gaming was made for the toilet – The Guardian

    Why Gaming Is the Ultimate Way to Pass Time in the Bathroom

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    How Tech Firms Like Google and Meta Are Embracing the Military – The New York Times

    How Tech Firms Like Google and Meta Are Embracing the Military – The New York Times

    Credo Technology: Wiring The AI Revolution (NASDAQ:CRDO) – Seeking Alpha

    Credo Technology: Driving the Next Wave of AI Innovation

    Microsoft Seeks to Extend Access to OpenAI Technology – PYMNTS.com

    Microsoft Aims to Broaden Access to OpenAI Technology

    Livonia police use grappler technology to stop drunk driver – ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4

    Livonia Police Deploy Grappler Technology to Safely Stop Drunk Driver

    Emory orthopaedic surgeons use robotic technology to transform knee replacement surgery – Emory News Center

    How Robotic Technology is Revolutionizing Knee Replacement Surgery

    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Evolutionary Ingenuity: How Ancient Sharks Survived Earth’s Hottest Oceans

June 3, 2024
in Science
Evolutionary Ingenuity: How Ancient Sharks Survived Earth’s Hottest Oceans
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Thresher Shark

During a significant warming event 93 million years ago, some sharks developed elongated pectoral fins to adapt to hotter ocean temperatures, a change documented in a recent study. These adaptations helped them transition from bottom dwellers to efficient open-water predators, a response that modern sharks may struggle to emulate given today’s rapid climate change.

Climate Change Was No Problem for the Big Fish

Research shows that sharks evolved from bottom dwellers to open ocean predators during a past global warming event, adapting with physical changes like elongated fins to become more efficient swimmers.

The sharks we know today as the open ocean’s top predators evolved from stubby bottom dwellers during a dramatic episode of global warming millions of years ago.

A massive outpouring of volcanic lava about 93 million years ago sent carbon dioxide levels soaring, creating a greenhouse climate that pushed ocean temperatures to their hottest. University of California, Riverside (UCR) researchers discovered that some sharks responded to the heat with elongated pectoral fins.

Scientific Discovery and Analysis

This discovery is documented in a paper published today (June 3) in the journal Current Biology. It was made by taking body length and fin measurements from over 500 living and fossilized shark species.

“The pectoral fins are a critical structure, comparable to our arms,” said UCR biology doctoral student and paper first author Phillip Sternes. “What we saw upon review of a massive data set, was that these fins changed shape as sharks expanded their habitat from the bottom to the open ocean.”

Shark Pectoral Fins

Sharks that live in different parts of the ocean, and their respective pectoral fins. Credit: Phillip Sternes/UCR

Adaptations and Efficiency

Longer pectoral fins help make shark movements much more efficient. “Their fins are comparable to the wings of commercial airplanes, long and narrow, to minimize the amount of energy needed for movement,” Sternes said.

The researchers also saw that the open-water sharks got faster compared to bottom dwelling sharks. “Shark muscle is very sensitive to temperature,” said Tim Higham, professor in UCR’s Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology and paper co-author.

“The data helped us make a correlation between higher temperatures, tail movement, and swimming speeds,” Higham said.

Habitats and Evolutionary Pressures

Most living shark species are still bottom dwellers, occupying what scientists refer to as the benthic zone. These benthic sharks do not loom as large in popular culture as their fierce open-water relatives. Many of the bottom dwellers are slender, flatter, more medium-sized predators.

Only about 13% of modern sharks are fast-swimming open-water predators. The researchers believe that breathing may have become difficult for their ancient relatives. Oxygen levels near the bottom during the Cretaceous period likely dropped as the heat increased.

Temperature Trends and Historical Context

Modern sea surface temperatures average about 68 degrees Fahrenheit. In the Cretaceous they were much warmer, reaching an average of about 83 degrees. The high heat of the Cretaceous did not happen overnight, and neither did the sharks’ evolution.

“We had pretty warm open-sea surface temperatures throughout the era, and then a distinct spike that took place over a one- or two-million-year period,” said associate professor at Claremont McKenna College and paper co-author Lars Schmitz.

Evolutionary Impact of Climate Change

As global warming drove an evolution in some groups of animals, including sharks, it caused the extinction of others. Because those evolutionary changes happened on a longer time scale in the past, it is difficult to predict exactly how sharks or other marine life will respond to current warming trends.

Biologists are seeing some sharks, including tropical species like tiger and bull sharks, starting to swim farther north. But it is unclear whether threatened sharks will again be able to adapt where they live and survive the rapidly increasing heat.

“The temperature is going up so fast now, there is nothing in the geologic record I am aware of that we can use for a true comparison,” Sternes said.

Reference: “The rise of pelagic sharks and adaptive evolution of pectoral fin morphology during the Cretaceous” 3 June 2024, Current Biology.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.05.016

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : SciTechDaily – https://scitechdaily.com/evolutionary-ingenuity-how-ancient-sharks-survived-earths-hottest-oceans/

Tags: evolutionaryIngenuityscience
Previous Post

Inside the Crystal Matrix: New “X-Ray Vision” Technique Sees Inside Crystals

Next Post

NFL Coach: Commanders OC Kingsbury Has ‘a Better Feel for’ Running an NFL Offense Now

Archived natural DNA samplers reveal four decades of biodiversity change across the tree of life – Nature

Four Decades of Biodiversity Uncovered Through Archived Natural DNA Samplers

August 4, 2025
Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars – Yahoo Home

Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars – Yahoo Home

August 4, 2025
Science and the courts need to better distinguish between correlations and causation – Genetic Literacy Project

Science and the courts need to better distinguish between correlations and causation – Genetic Literacy Project

August 4, 2025
Adidas Relies on ‘Brand Heat’ in Lifestyle Footwear for Future Growth – WWD

Adidas Relies on ‘Brand Heat’ in Lifestyle Footwear for Future Growth – WWD

August 4, 2025
Team USA sets new relay record at swim worlds and Katie Ledecky wins again – CBS News

Team USA Smashes Relay Record at Swim Worlds as Katie Ledecky Reigns Supreme Again

August 4, 2025
Dow futures reverse higher as recession alarm bells jolt Wall Street awake from dreams of a gravity-defying economy – Fortune

Dow Futures Soar Amid Growing Recession Concerns Shaking Wall Street Confidence

August 4, 2025
Hank Hill returns to a changed world in new ‘King of the Hill’ episodes – New Haven Register

Hank Hill Navigates a Bold New World in Thrilling New ‘King of the Hill’ Episodes

August 4, 2025
How Trump’s Immigration Policies Are Impacting Health Care – Pulmonology Advisor

How Trump’s Immigration Policies Are Shaping the Future of Health Care

August 4, 2025
Ghislaine Maxwell moved to federal prison camp in Texas – CNN

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved to Federal Prison Camp in Texas

August 4, 2025
How Tech Firms Like Google and Meta Are Embracing the Military – The New York Times

How Tech Firms Like Google and Meta Are Embracing the Military – The New York Times

August 4, 2025

Categories

Archives

August 2025
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (754)
  • Economy (779)
  • Entertainment (21,656)
  • General (16,284)
  • Health (9,816)
  • Lifestyle (787)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (778)
  • Politics (788)
  • Science (15,992)
  • Sports (21,274)
  • Technology (15,756)
  • World (760)

Recent News

Archived natural DNA samplers reveal four decades of biodiversity change across the tree of life – Nature

Four Decades of Biodiversity Uncovered Through Archived Natural DNA Samplers

August 4, 2025
Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars – Yahoo Home

Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars – Yahoo Home

August 4, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version