The mystery of the apex sea predator that managed to eat a 2.75m great white shark off the coast of Australia has been revealed by scientists.

Researchers had tagged the great white shark to track its location, depth, and temperature to try and better understand the predator of the ocean, but were baffled to find the tracking device washed up on a beach just four months later.

The data from the tracker implied that the shark had been devoured by a creature much bigger, with the tracking device showing that it had stayed in the digestive system of the huge creature after it ate the great white.

The scientists believe that the killer was a “colossal cannibal great white shark” that was up to five metres in size and weighted up to two tonnes.