Orthacanthus, an ancient shark species does filial cannibalism, an act that happens when the grown up of the species feed on their own little ones.

The Orthacanthus sharks used to live around 300 million years back in the coastal stretches of present day North America and Europe, once enclosed in hot jungles.

A paper appeared in the journal Palaeontology, wherein researchers said that they discovered juvenile shark teeth in the fossilized poop of such sharks discovered in a coal field in Canada. As per the findings, the animal, a main marine predator of its era, feasted its kind.

Researchers were sure that the fossilized poo known as coprolite was of such sharks because of the strange shape of the fecal matter. It was also verified that the teeth belonged to the same species.

Study researcher Aodhan ó Gogáin, from the University of Bristol, said, “These sharks have very distinctive tricuspid teeth, where they have little tusks coming up from the tooth”.

Previous research demonstrated that the eel-like shark consumed other fish and other amphibians but the fresh findings have offered the first proof they also feasted on the juveniles of their own species.

Though scientists aren’t sure about what make the sharks consume their young, they have some ideas. For example the marine animal could have reached on cannibalism to avoid staying hungry when there is food supply shortage.

The animal used to be on Earth during the period when marine fish began colonizing freshwater areas, causing considerable decrease in the food supply of the shark. The coastal swamps were terrorized by the shark but there was a boost to extend into freshwater inland when marine fish began colonizing the freshwater swamps.

According to researchers the Orthacanthus was like the present day bull shark that can migrate back and forth in between coastal swamps and shallow seas, an ecological adjustment that probably played a part in inland freshwater environments’ colonization.

A report published in Business Insider informed, "New fossils of fecal matter found in Canada revealed something a little unsettling - these sharks were feasting on their own young, possibly in times of low food supply. The findings were published Thursday in the journal Paleontology."

Within the fossils, there were loads of juvenile shark teeth. Scientists think that this species, Orthacanthus, lived in oily waters in swamps off the coast of Europe and North America, surrounded by hot jungles. When nothing else was available, these top predators might have dipped into their own population to keep from going hungry.

However, it looks like this isn't the only time a species has been forced to cannibalize its own members in attempts to survive. Recently, seagulls in Washington State have started eating their own chicks, for example, because rising water temperatures have caused plankton, their main food source, to vanish.

According to a report in Tech Times by Rhodi Lee, "The Orthacanthus sharks lived about 300 million years ago in the coastal swamps of modern-day North America and Europe, which were once surrounded by hot jungles. In a paper published in the journal Palaeontology, researchers reported that they found juvenile shark teeth in the fossilized poop of these sharks that were found in a coal field in Canada."

Although scientists are not exactly certain as to what drove the sharks to eat their young, they have some ideas. The marine animal, for instance, may have resorted to cannibalism to keep themselves from getting hungry when there is shortage of food supply.

Researchers think that the Orthacanthus was like the modern day bull shark capable of migrating back and forth between coastal swamps and shallow seas, an ecological adaptation that has possibly played a role in the colonization of inland freshwater environments.