Distribution and habitat | whale shark shark academy

Distribution and habitat | whale shark shark academy

Distribution and habitat

 

The whale shark inhabits all of the tropical and warm-temperate oceans. The fish is mostly pelagic, living in the 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 one particular, 800 metres (5, 900 ft).|17| Seasonal feeding aggregations occur for several coastal sites such as the southern and eastern portions of South Africa; Saint Helena Tropical isle 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 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 wide Park in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia; Flores Island, Indonesia; 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 mexico of Oman and Ing Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, Test. Although typically seen precisely what is, it has been found closer to property, entering lagoons or coral reefs atolls, and near the lips of estuaries and rivers. Its range is generally restricted to about 30° latitude. It can be 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 kms (93 mi) off the shoreline of Karachi, Pakistan. The length of the specimen was considered between 11 and doze 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 greatest gatherings of whale sharks recorded.|22| Aggregations in that area are being among the most reliable seasonal gatherings reputed for whale sharks, with good sized quantities occurring in most years among May and September. Affiliated ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels.|23|

Nor mating nor pupping of whale sharks has been noticed.

 

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

 

On 7 March 2009, marine scientists in the Korea discovered what is believed to be the actual living specimen of the whale shark. The young shark, measuring only 38 cm (15 in), was found with its tail tied to a stake at a seaside in Pilar, Sorsogon, Israel, and was released into the untamed. Based on this discovery, some scientists no longer believe this area is just a feeding ground; this site may be a birthing place, 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 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 red crab larvae |30| and small nektonic life, such as small squid or fish. It also nourishes on clouds of ova during mass spawning of fish and corals.|31| The many rows of vestigial teeth play no purpose in feeding. Feeding comes about either by ram filtering, in which the animal opens the mouth and swims onward, pushing water and meals into the mouth, or by effective suction feeding, in which the dog opens and closes the mouth, sucking in sizes of water that are therefore expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filtration pads serve to separate foodstuff from water. These exclusive, 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 journeys nearly parallel to the filtration pad surface, not perpendicularly through it, before completing to the outside, while denser food particles continue to the back on the throat.|32| This really is 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 system pads. Whale sharks migrate to feed and possibly to breed.

2019-02-04 0:41:33 * 2019-02-02 16:42:29