Marine biologist Brooke Anderson and her team discovered unusual data from a satellite tag placed on a pregnant seven-foot-long porbeagle shark, suggesting it had been predated.

The study highlights the significant loss of a reproductive female porbeagle and her developing babies, which could critically impact the already endangered population.

Data from the tag indicated a significant increase in temperature at depths where it was located, suggesting it was inside a larger predator's stomach.

Tracking data later revealed that the porbeagle was likely eaten by a larger great white shark.

Researchers concluded that the tag had been ingested by a larger predator, likely a great white or shortfin mako shark.

This incident marks the first documented predation event of a porbeagle shark anywhere in the world, according to lead author Brooke Anderson.

This finding could have significant implications for the conservation of both porbeagle and great white sharks, which are classified as endangered by the UN.

The study calls for further research on predator-prey interactions in mesopelagic waters to enhance knowledge of ecosystem dynamics and improve management strategies.

Researchers emphasize the need for continued tagging and tracking to understand the impact of predation on the already-depleted porbeagle shark population.

Dr. Brooke Anderson warns that such predation could have significant negative impacts on the already declining porbeagle population.

The research team had originally aimed to track the movements of pregnant porbeagle sharks but uncovered a deep-water predator-prey relationship.

Pop-off satellite archival tags (PSATs) are used to study the movements and mortality of elasmobranchs, including the documentation of predation events.