Distribution and habitat
The whale shark inhabits all of the tropical and warm-temperate oceans. The fish is generally pelagic, living in the open sea but not in the increased depths of the ocean, though it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as 1, 800 metres (5, nine hundred ft).|17| Temporary feeding aggregations occur for several coastal sites including the southern and eastern parts of South Africa; Saint Helena Area in the South Atlantic Sea; 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 Thailand; 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 Domestic Park in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia; Flores Island, Dalam negri; Nosy Be in Madagascar; away Tofo Beach near Inhambane in Mozambique; the Tanzanian islands of Mafia, Pemba, Zanzibar; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, the Ad Dimaniyat Islands in the Gulf of Oman and Way Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, The nike jordan. Although typically seen just offshore, it has been found closer to land, entering lagoons or coral atolls, and near the mouths 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 coast of Karachi, Pakistan. The size of the specimen was said to be between 11 and 12 m (36 and 39 ft), with a weight of around 15, 000 kilogram (33, 000 lb).|21|
In 2011, more than 400 whale sharks gathered off the Yucatan Coast. It was one of the most significant gatherings of whale sharks recorded.|22| Aggregations in that area are among the most reliable seasonal gatherings praised for whale sharks, with huge 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 seen.
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 fresh which are 40 to 62 cm (16 to twenty-four in) long. Evidence signifies the pups are not most born at once, but rather the feminine retains sperm from one pairing and produces a steady stream of pups over a continuous period.|26| That they reach sexual maturity at around 30 years and their life-span is an estimated 70|9| to 100 years.|27|
On 7 March 2009, marine scientists in the Israel discovered what is believed to be the actual living specimen of the whale shark. The young shark, measuring only 38 centimeter (15 in), was observed with its tail tied to a stake at a beach in Pilar, Sorsogon, Korea, and was released into the untamed. Based on this discovery, several scientists no longer believe this area 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 inside the South Atlantic Ocean, in which numerous whale sharks can be spotted during the summer.
The whale shark is a filtration feeder - one of just three known filter-feeding shark species (along with the basking shark and the megamouth shark). It feeds on plankton including copepods, krill, seafood eggs, Christmas Island reddish colored crab larvae |30| and small nektonic life, such as small squid or fish. It also provides nourishment to on clouds of ova during mass spawning of fish and corals.|31| The many rows of vestigial teeth play no role in feeding. Feeding takes place either by ram purification, in which the animal opens their mouth and swims frontward, pushing water and food into the mouth, or by lively suction feeding, in which the creature opens and closes its mouth, sucking in volumes of prints of water that are then simply expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filtration system pads serve to separate foodstuff from water. These one of a kind, black sieve-like structures will be presumed to be modified gill rakers. Food separation in whale sharks is by cross-flow filtration, in which the water moves nearly parallel to the filtration system pad surface, not perpendicularly through it, before completing to the outside, while denser food particles continue to the back from the throat.|32| This really is an extremely efficient filtration method that minimizes fouling of the filter pad surface. Whale sharks have been observed "coughing", presumably to clear a build-up of particles from the filtration system pads. Whale sharks migrate to feed and possibly to reproduce.
2019-01-10 19:58:38
No comments:
Post a Comment