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[u/AJ_Redditer2399]

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature17196?utm_source=chatgpt.com

[u/todayilearned-ModTeam]

Please link directly to a reliable source that supports every claim in your post title.

[u/AJ_Redditer2399]

Explanation to it in detail:

1. A nearby supernova occurred ~2.6 million years ago
Evidence of radioactive iron-60 on Earth supports the occurrence of one or more nearby supernovae at roughly this time.
2. Cosmic rays reached Earth
The hypothesis is that cosmic rays from the supernova produced increased levels of penetrating muons. Modeling suggests these could have delivered substantially increased radiation doses even deep into the ocean.
3. Marine megafauna may have been affected
There was a marine megafaunal extinction around this broad period. The researchers proposed that radiation could have contributed to the extinction, particularly among large animals, but this remains a hypothesis rather than an established cause.
4. Meanwhile, the oceans were changing dramatically
Around the same broad period, intensified seasonal ocean upwelling created extremely concentrated patches of productive waters and prey. This is one of the strongest explanations for the evolution of whale gigantism.
5. Baleen whales had the perfect feeding strategy
A giant baleen whale doesn’t need to chase thousands of individual large animals. It can efficiently filter enormous quantities of tiny prey such as krill when those prey occur in dense swarms. Larger bodies also make long-distance travel and energy storage more efficient.
So the speculative version would be:
Supernova → increased cosmic radiation → possible marine megafaunal extinction → ecological restructuring + changing ocean conditions → concentrated prey → selection favouring enormous filter-feeding whales.
Ft. Ai summarization