Habitat Whale Shark | whale shark close encounter
Distribution and habitat
The whale shark inhabits every tropical and warm-temperate oceans. The fish is mainly pelagic, living in the wide open sea but not in the better depths of the ocean, even though it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as you, 800 metres (5, 900 ft).|17| In season feeding aggregations occur in several coastal sites including the southern and eastern regions of South Africa; Saint Helena Area in the South Atlantic Marine; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, Gladden Spit in Belize; Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia; Kerala|18|, Lakshadweep, Gulf of Kutch and Saurashtra coast of Gujarat in India;|19| Útila in Honduras; Southern Leyte; Donsol, Pasacao and Batangas in the Korea; off Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox in Yucatan and Bahía de los Ángeles in Baja California, México; Maamigili island, Maldives; Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia; Cenderawasih Bay Country specific Park in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia; Flores Island, Philippines; Nosy Be in Madagascar; off Tofo Beach near Inhambane in Mozambique; the Tanzanian islands of Mafia, Pemba, Zanzibar; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, the Advertisement Dimaniyat Islands in the Gulf of Oman and Ing Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, The nike jordan. Although typically seen precisely what is, it has been found closer to territory, entering lagoons or coral atolls, and near the lips of estuaries and waterways. Its range is generally limited to about 30° latitude. It truly is capable of diving to depths of at least 1, 286 m (4, 219 ft),|20| and is migratory.|9| On 7 February 2012, a large whale shark was found floating 150 kilometres (93 mi) off the coastline of Karachi, Pakistan. The length of the specimen was said to be between 11 and 12 m (36 and 39 ft), with a weight of around 15, 000 kg (33, 000 lb).|21|
In 2011, more than 400 whale sharks gathered off the Yucatan Coast. It was one of the greatest gatherings of whale fishes recorded.|22| Aggregations in that area are one of the most reliable seasonal gatherings reputed for whale sharks, with large numbers occurring in most years between May and September. Connected ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels.|23|
Not mating nor pupping of whale sharks has been observed.
The capture of a girl in July 1996 that was pregnant with three hundred pups indicated whale fishes are ovoviviparous.|9||24||25| The eggs remain in the body and the females give birth to live youthful which are 40 to 60 cm (16 to twenty-four in) long. Evidence implies the pups are not all of the born at once, but rather the feminine retains sperm from one mating and produces a steady stream of pups over a prolonged period.|26| They reach sexual maturity for around 30 years and their life-span is an estimated 70|9| to 100 years.|27|
On 7 March 2009, marine scientists in the Philippines discovered what is believed to be the smallest living specimen of the whale shark. The young shark, measuring only 38 centimeter (15 in), was identified with its tail tied to a stake at a seashore in Pilar, Sorsogon, Philippines, and was released into the crazy. Based on this discovery, several scientists no longer believe this place is just a feeding ground; this web site may be a birthing surface, as well. Both young whale sharks and pregnant females have been seen in the oceans of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where numerous whale sharks can be spotted during the summer.
The whale shark is a filter feeder - one of only three known filter-feeding shark species (along with the basking shark and the megamouth shark). It feeds on plankton including copepods, krill, fish eggs, Christmas Island reddish crab larvae |30| and small nektonic life, such as small squid or fish. It also provides nourishment to on clouds of ovum during mass spawning of fish and corals.|31| The many rows of vestigial teeth play no function in feeding. Feeding happens either by ram filtering, in which the animal opens their mouth and swims frontward, pushing water and foodstuff into the mouth, or by effective suction feeding, in which the canine opens and closes the mouth, sucking in sizes of water that are in that case expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filter pads serve to separate food from water. These exceptional, black sieve-like structures are presumed to be modified gill rakers. Food separation in whale sharks is by cross-flow filtration, in which the water trips nearly parallel to the filter pad surface, not perpendicularly through it, before moving to the outside, while denser food particles continue to the back of the throat.|32| This is certainly an extremely efficient filtration technique that minimizes fouling on the filter pad surface. Whale sharks have been observed "coughing", presumably to clear a build-up of particles from the filtration pads. Whale sharks migrate to feed and possibly to reproduce.
2019-01-28 5:00:42 * 2019-01-21 13:42:29
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