Whale Shark Distribution | whale shark singing

Whale Shark Distribution | whale shark singing

Distribution and habitat

 

The whale shark inhabits every tropical and warm-temperate oceans. The fish is generally pelagic, living in the open up sea but not in the better depths of the ocean, although it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as 1, 800 metres (5, nine hundred ft).|17| In season feeding aggregations occur in several coastal sites such as the southern and eastern parts of South Africa; Saint Helena Area in the South Atlantic Underwater; 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 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 mexico of Oman and Ing Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, Test. Although typically seen just offshore, it has been found closer to land, entering lagoons or coral formations atolls, and near the lips of estuaries and waterways. Its range is generally limited to about 30° latitude. It 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 shoreline 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 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 being among the most reliable seasonal gatherings known for whale sharks, with vast quantities occurring in most years among May and September. Associated ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels.|23|

None mating nor pupping of whale sharks has been seen.

 

The capture of a feminine in July 1996 that was pregnant with 300 pups indicated whale fishes are ovoviviparous.|9||24||25| The ovum remain in the body and the females give birth to live young which are 40 to 60 cm (16 to twenty four in) long. Evidence signifies the pups are not most born at once, but rather the female retains sperm from one pairing and produces a steady stream of pups over a prolonged period.|26| They will reach sexual maturity in around 30 years and their life-span is an estimated 70|9| to 100 years.|27|

 

On 7 March 2009, marine scientists in the Thailand discovered what is believed to be the smallest living specimen of the whale shark. The young shark, measuring only 38 cm (15 in), was discovered with its tail tied to a stake at a beach front in Pilar, Sorsogon, Israel, and was released into the crazy. Based on this discovery, several scientists no longer believe this area is just a feeding ground; this web site may be a birthing earth, as well. Both young whale sharks and pregnant females have been seen in the waters of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, wherever numerous whale sharks could be spotted during the summer.

The whale shark is a filtration system 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, seafood eggs, Christmas Island red crab larvae |30| and small nektonic life, such as small squid or fish. It also passes on clouds of eggs during mass spawning of fish and corals.|31| The many rows of vestigial teeth play no function in feeding. Feeding comes about either by ram filtering, in which the animal opens the mouth and swims forward, pushing water and meals into the mouth, or by effective suction feeding, in which the pet opens and closes it is mouth, sucking in quantities of water that are in that case expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filter pads serve to separate meals 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 vacations 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 on the throat.|32| This is certainly an extremely efficient filtration method 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 system pads. Whale sharks migrate to feed and possibly to reproduce.

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