Habitat Whale Shark | oslob whale shark watching 2018
Distribution and habitat
The whale shark inhabits almost all tropical and warm-temperate oceans. The fish is generally pelagic, living in the open sea but not in the higher 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 by several coastal sites such as the southern and eastern areas of South Africa; Saint Helena Tropical island 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 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 mexico of Oman and Approach Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, The nike jordan. Although typically seen just offshore, it has been found closer to terrain, entering lagoons or coral reefs atolls, and near the teeth of estuaries and estuaries and rivers. 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 kms (93 mi) off the seacoast of Karachi, Pakistan. The length of the specimen was considered 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 major gatherings of whale fishes recorded.|22| Aggregations in that area are one of the most reliable seasonal gatherings praised for whale sharks, with good sized quantities occurring in most years between May and September. Linked ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels.|23|
Not mating nor pupping of whale sharks has been discovered.
The capture of a girl 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 small which are 40 to 60 cm (16 to twenty-four in) long. Evidence implies the pups are not all of the born at once, but rather the feminine retains sperm from one mating and produces a steady stream of pups over a long term period.|26| That 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 beach front in Pilar, Sorsogon, Korea, and was released into the untamed. Based on this discovery, a few scientists no longer believe this place is just a feeding ground; this 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 inside the South Atlantic Ocean, in which numerous whale sharks could be spotted during the summer.
The whale shark is a filter 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 feeds on clouds of eggs during mass spawning of fish and corals.|31| The many rows of vestigial teeth play no purpose in feeding. Feeding takes place either by ram purification, in which the animal opens their mouth and swims ahead, pushing water and foodstuff into the mouth, or by energetic suction feeding, in which the canine opens and closes it is mouth, sucking in volumes of prints of water that are in that case expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filtration system pads serve to separate food from water. These exceptional, 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 travels nearly parallel to the filter pad surface, not perpendicularly through it, before moving to the outside, while denser food particles continue to the back with the throat.|32| This really is an extremely efficient filtration approach that minimizes fouling in the filter pad surface. Whale sharks have been observed "coughing", presumably to clear a build-up of particles from the filter pads. Whale sharks migrate to feed and possibly to breed.
2019-01-10 23:16:41
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