Behold! The great white shark’s newly discoverd history

The description of a new species of white shark has altered views on the evolution of the famous great white shark.

Previously, it was thought that great whites are closely related to megatooth sharks such as the extinct Carcharocles megalodon, the largest carnivorous shark that ever lived. The description of a new intermediary species that lived about 6.5 million years ago suggests that the great white is in fact descended from from broad-toothed mako sharks.

What does this mean? Scientists can now look at the species differently ecologically. Understand them a bit better. While this may seem like a small step, It’s actually about a 2 million year difference, Yay science!