There are few animals that can challenge adult porbeagle sharks, or so researchers believed. However, in 2020, a porbeagle longer than Shaquille O'Neal's height disappeared nearly six months after being equipped with tracking devices. Fortunately, one of these devices resurfaced, offering insights into the shark's grim fate. The data suggests it was likely consumed by a larger great white shark, as reported by marine biologist Brooke Anderson and her colleagues in Frontiers in Marine Science on September 3. This marks the first documented case of an adult porbeagle being preyed upon.
Porbeagles (Lamna nasus) are large sharks resembling a mix between a great white and a short-fin mako. They prey on fish such as mackerel, cod, and haddock, and can exceed three meters in length. It's astonishing that a porbeagle over two meters long, a formidable predator itself, could become prey. Scientists did not witness the attack but reconstructed the event using location, temperature, and depth data from the tags, which tracked the shark from Cape Cod to Bermuda.
The tags indicated an abrupt temperature increase on March 24 at a depth of 300 meters, persisting even at 600 meters. Anderson believes this indicates the tag was in the stomach of a larger predator. To identify the predator, Anderson analyzed various factors available after the tag resurfaced. The temperature readings suggested the tag was not in a marine mammal but likely in a short-fin mako or a great white shark, with the latter being the more plausible suspect based on diving patterns.
Megan Winton of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy notes that while a large white shark is a likely suspect, other scenarios are possible. The tag could have been eaten without the shark being consumed, or another porbeagle might have been the predator. Winton emphasizes that even if only the tag was bitten off, it represents an intriguing interaction between species.
