In a recent paper published by the journal Current Biology, Professor Lars Schmitz and several co-authors documented how warming ocean temperatures and reduced oxygen more than 100 million years ago may have caused sharks to become bigger, faster, and hungrier. The paper received attention from several scientific publications, including The New York Times. “When the ocean got very hot approximately 122 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, some sharks abandoned their habitat on the seafloor and moved up into the open ocean. That ascent may have altered their fin and body structure, which led to changes in their size and ability to swim,” said Schmitz. “Warmer temperatures and faster, quicker muscles meant sharks could beat their tail back and forth faster … this translates to increased speed, which … might have then led sharks to expand into a more open water habitat, catching fast-swimming prey and avoiding other Cretaceous marine predators that are now extinct.”