Whale shark habitat | whale shark mexico
Distribution and habitat
The whale shark inhabits almost all tropical and warm-temperate seas. The fish is primarily pelagic, living in the open sea but not in the greater depths of the ocean, though it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as one particular, 800 metres (5, nine hundred ft).|17| Seasonal feeding aggregations occur by several coastal sites including the southern and eastern elements of South Africa; Saint Helena Island 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 Philippines; 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 State 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 Al 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 reefs atolls, and near the mouths of estuaries and streams. 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 kilometres (93 mi) off the shoreline of Karachi, Pakistan. The size 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 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. Connected ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels.|23|
Not mating nor pupping of whale sharks has been seen.
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 adolescent which are 40 to 58 cm (16 to 24 in) long. Evidence implies the pups are not every born at once, but rather women retains sperm from one mating and produces a steady stream of pups over a long term period.|26| That they reach sexual maturity by around 30 years and their life expectancy is an estimated 70|9| to 100 years.|27|
On 7 March 2009, marine scientists in the Dubai discovered what is believed to be the smallest living specimen of the whale shark. The young shark, measuring only 38 centimeter (15 in), was identified with its tail tied to a stake at a beach front in Pilar, Sorsogon, Thailand, and was released into the outdoors. Based on this discovery, a few scientists no longer believe this area is just a feeding ground; this site may be a birthing ground, as well. Both young whale sharks and pregnant females have been seen in the waters of Saint Helena inside the South Atlantic Ocean, where numerous whale sharks can be spotted during the summer.
The whale shark is a filter 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 purple crab larvae |30| and small nektonic life, such as small squid or fish. It also passes on clouds of ova during mass spawning of fish and corals.|31| The many rows of vestigial teeth play no function in feeding. Feeding happens either by ram purification, in which the animal opens their mouth and swims onward, pushing water and food into the mouth, or by productive suction feeding, in which the dog opens and closes its mouth, sucking in amounts of water that are then expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filtration system pads serve to separate meals 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 trips nearly parallel to the filter pad surface, not perpendicularly through it, before completing to the outside, while denser food particles continue to the back in the throat.|32| This really is an extremely efficient filtration approach that minimizes fouling of 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.
2019-02-16 23:41:44 * 2019-02-09 12:01:36
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