Distribution and habitat
The whale shark inhabits all of the tropical and warm-temperate waters. The fish is largely pelagic, living in the wide open sea but not in the greater 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| Seasonal feeding aggregations occur by several coastal sites including the southern and eastern parts of South Africa; Saint Helena Area in the South Atlantic Water; 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 Israel; 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; away Tofo Beach near Inhambane in Mozambique; the Tanzanian islands of Mafia, Pemba, Zanzibar; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, the Advertising Dimaniyat Islands in the Gulf of Oman and 's Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, 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 streams. 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 length of the specimen was said to be between 11 and doze 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 major gatherings of whale fishes recorded.|22| Aggregations in that area are being among the most reliable seasonal gatherings praised for whale sharks, with vast quantities occurring in most years between May and September. Affiliated ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels.|23|
None mating nor pupping of whale sharks has been witnessed.
The capture of a girl in July 1996 that was pregnant with 300 pups indicated whale sharks are ovoviviparous.|9||24||25| The eggs remain in the body and the females give birth to live youthful which are 40 to 70 cm (16 to twenty four in) long. Evidence signifies the pups are not all of the born at once, but rather the female retains sperm from one mating and produces a steady stream of pups over a continuous period.|26| They will reach sexual maturity by 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 smallest living specimen of the whale shark. The young shark, measuring only 38 centimeter (15 in), was located with its tail tied to a stake at a shore in Pilar, Sorsogon, Dubai, and was released into the untamed. Based on this discovery, several scientists no longer believe this area is just a feeding ground; this website may be a birthing surface, as well. Both young whale sharks and pregnant females have been seen in the marine environments of Saint Helena inside the South Atlantic Ocean, where numerous whale sharks can be spotted during the summer.
The whale shark is a filter feeder - one of simply 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 purple crab larvae |30| and small nektonic life, such as small squid or fish. It also enters on clouds of eggs 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 filtering, in which the animal opens it is mouth and swims onward, pushing water and meals into the mouth, or by energetic suction feeding, in which the pet opens and closes it is mouth, sucking in quantities of water that are then expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filtration system pads serve to separate food from water. These exclusive, black sieve-like structures happen to 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 pad surface, not perpendicularly through it, before passing to the outside, while denser food particles continue to the back with the throat.|32| This is an extremely efficient filtration method that minimizes fouling from 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.
2019-02-14 3:01:14 * 2019-02-13 09:04:54
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