The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving, filter-feeding floor covering shark and the largest referred to extant fish species. The biggest confirmed individual had a length of 12. 65 m (41. 5 ft) and a weight of about 21. a few t (47, 000 lb).[8] The whale shark holds many records for size in the canine kingdom, most notably being definitely the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate. It is the sole member of the genus Rhincodon and the just extant member of the family Rhincodontidae which in turn belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii inside the class Chondrichthyes. Before 1984 it was classified as Rhiniodon into Rhinodontidae.
The whale shark is found in open seas of the tropical oceans which is rarely found in the water beneath 21 °C (70 °F).[2] Modeling advises a lifespan of about seventy years, but measurements possess proven difficult.[9] Whale sharks have huge mouths and are filter feeders, which is a feeding mode that develops in only two other sharks, the megamouth shark and the basking shark. They supply almost exclusively on plankton and small fishes, and pose no threat to humans.
The species was distinguished in April 1828 after the harpooning of a 5. 6 m (15 ft) specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. Andrew Smith, a military doctor associated with United kingdom troops stationed in Plaid Town, described it the following year.[10] The name "whale shark" refers to the fish's size, being as large as some types of whales,[11] and also to its being a filter feeder like baleen whales.
Whale sharks have a mouth that can be 1 . 5 m (4. 9 ft) extensive, containing 300 to 450 rows of tiny teeth and 10 filter pads which usually it uses to filter supply.[12] Unlike various other sharks, whale sharks' teeth are located at the front of the brain rather than on the underside on the head.[13] Whale sharks have five significant pairs of gills. The head is wide and smooth with two small eyes at the front. Whale sharks happen to be grey with a white tummy. Their skin is noted with pale yellow areas and stripes which are one of a kind to each individual. The whale shark has three prominent ridges along its factors. Its skin can be up to 10 cm (3. 9 in) thick. The shark has a pair of dorsal fins and pectoral fins. Juveniles' tails have a larger upper fin than the lower cid, while the adult tail becomes semilunate. The whale shark's spiracles are just behind the eyes.
The whale shark is the largest non-cetacean canine in the world. The average size of adult whale sharks is estimated at 9. 8 m (32 ft) and 9 t (20, 000 lb).[8] Several individuals over 18 m (59 ft) in length have been reported.[14] The largest approved specimen was caught upon 11 November 1949, near Étonné Island, in Karachi, Pakistan. It was 12. 65 m (41. 5 ft) very long, weighed about 21. your five t (47, 000 lb), and had a girth of seven m (23 ft).[8] Stories exist of vastly larger specimens -- quoted lengths of 18 m (59 ft) and 45. 5 t (100, 000 lb) are common inside the popular literature, but no scientific records support their very own existence. In 1868, the Irish natural scientist Edward cullen Perceval Wright obtained a number of small whale shark individuals in the Seychelles, but stated to have observed specimens above 15 m (49 ft), and tells of shark individuals surpassing 21 m (69 ft).
In a 1925 publication, Hugh M. Smith described a huge pet caught in a bamboo fish trap in Thailand in 1919. The shark was too heavy to pull ashore, although Smith estimated the shark was at least 17 meters (56 ft) long, and weighed around 37 t. These measurements have been exaggerated to 43 t (95, 000 lb) and a far more precise 17. 98 meters (59. 0 ft) nowadays. A shark caught in 1994 off Tainan State, southern Taiwan, reportedly assessed 35. 8 t (79, 000 lb).[15] There have even been unverified claims of whale sharks of up to 23 metres (75 ft) and 95 tonnes (220, 000 lb). In 1934, a mail named the Maurguani discovered a whale shark in the southern Pacific Ocean, rammed it, and the shark became caught up on the prow of the mail, supposedly with 4. 6th m (15 ft) on one side and 12. two m (40 ft) one the other side of the coin.[16] No reliable documentation exists for these statements and they remain "fish stories".
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