Whale shark habitat | whale shark kona

Whale shark habitat | whale shark kona

Distribution and habitat

 

The whale shark inhabits every tropical and warm-temperate seas. The fish is primarily pelagic, living in the 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 1, 800 metres (5, 900 ft).|17| Temporary feeding aggregations occur in several coastal sites such as the southern and eastern parts of South Africa; Saint Helena Isle in the South Atlantic Ocean; 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 Dubai; 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, 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 Advertising Dimaniyat Islands in the Gulf of mexico of Oman and Way Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, Michael jordan. Although typically seen just offshore, it has been found closer to territory, entering lagoons or coral reefs atolls, and near the mouths of estuaries and rivers. Its range is generally limited to about 30° latitude. It is actually 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 seacoast of Karachi, Pakistan. The size of the specimen was considered 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 largest gatherings of whale sharks recorded.|22| Aggregations in that area are among the most reliable seasonal gatherings praised for whale sharks, with large numbers occurring in most years among May and September. Associated ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels.|23|

Nor mating nor pupping of whale sharks has been discovered.

 

The capture of a feminine in July 1996 that was pregnant with three hundred pups indicated whale sharks are ovoviviparous.|9||24||25| The ovum remain in the body and the females give birth to live small which are 40 to 58 cm (16 to twenty four in) long. Evidence indicates the pups are not almost all born at once, but rather women retains sperm from one pairing and produces a steady stream of pups over a lengthened period.|26| They 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 Philippines discovered what is believed to be the actual living specimen of the whale shark. The young shark, measuring only 38 cm (15 in), was located with its tail tied to a stake at a seashore in Pilar, Sorsogon, Dubai, and was released into the crazy. Based on this discovery, some scientists no longer believe this area is just a feeding ground; this great site may be a birthing surface, as well. Both young whale sharks and pregnant females have been seen in the lakes and rivers of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, exactly where 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 crimson crab larvae |30| and small nektonic life, such as small squid or fish. It also feeds on clouds of ovum during mass spawning of fish and corals.|31| The many rows of vestigial teeth play no part in feeding. Feeding happens either by ram purification, in which the animal opens the mouth and swims onward, pushing water and food into the mouth, or by energetic suction feeding, in which the creature opens and closes their mouth, sucking in volumes of prints of water that are in that case expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filter pads serve to separate foodstuff from water. These one of a kind, 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 filter pad surface, not perpendicularly through it, before passing to the outside, while denser food particles continue to the back of the throat.|32| This really is an extremely efficient filtration method that minimizes fouling in 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 move to feed and possibly to breed.

2019-02-03 4:00:55 * 2019-02-01 06:42:37