<P> A Permian shark, Triodus sessilis, was discovered containing two amphibians (Archegosaurus decheni and Cheliderpeton latirostre), one of which had consumed a fish, Acanthodes bronni, showing that the shark had lived at a trophic level of at least 4 . </P> <P> Among more recent fossils, the sabre - tooth cats, like Smilodon, are considered to have been apex predators in the Cenozoic . </P> <P> Humans hunted with wolves and in turn with domestic dogs for some 40,000 years; this collaboration may have helped modern humans to outcompete the Neanderthals . Humans still hunt with dogs, which have often been bred as gun dogs to point to, flush out, or retrieve prey . The Portuguese Water Dog was used to drive fish into nets . Several breeds of dog have been used to chase large prey such as deer and wolves . </P> <P> Among other apex predators, birds of prey from eagles to small falcons are used in falconry, hunting birds or mammals; and tethered cormorants have been used to catch fish . </P>

Is this an example of natural selection apex