Whale shark
| Whale shark Temporal range: Jurassic |
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| Whale shark from Taiwan in the Georgia Aquarium | |
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| Size comparison against an average human | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Orectolobiformes |
| Family: | Rhincodontidae (Müller and Henle, 1839) |
| Genus: | Rhincodon Smith, 1829 |
| Species: | R. typus |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhincodon typus (Smith, 1828) |
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| Range of whale shark | |
The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest living fish species.
The largest confirmed individual was 12.65 metres (41.50 ft) in length. The heaviest weighed more than 36 tonnes (79,000 lb).[1] Unconfirmed claims report larger individuals.
This distinctively-marked fish is the only member of its genus Rhincodon and its family, Rhincodontidae. It belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes.
The shark is found in tropical and warm oceans and has a lifespan of about 70 years.[2][3][4]
Although whale sharks have very large mouths, they feed mainly on plankton, microscopic plants and animals. The BBC program Planet Earth filmed a whale shark feeding on a school of small fish.[5]
The species was discovered in April 1828, following the harpooning of a 4.6 metre specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. Andrew Smith, a military doctor with British troops stationed in Cape Town described it the next year.[6] He published a more detailed description in 1849. The name "whale shark" comes from the fish's physiology; as large as a whale, it too is a filter feeder.
Other pages [change]
References [change]
- ↑ Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa ISBN 978-1-77007-772-0
- ↑ Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. "Rhincodon typus". FishBase. http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=2081. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
- ↑ Martin, R. Aidan.. "Elasmo Research". ReefQuest. http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/topics/d_filter_feeding.htm. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
- ↑ "Whale shark". Icthyology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Whaleshark/whaleshark.html. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
- ↑ Jurassic Shark (2000) documentary by Jacinth O'Donnell; broadcast on Discovery Channel, August 5, 2006
- ↑ Martin, R. Aidan. "Rhincodon or Rhiniodon? A Whale Shark by any Other Name". ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research. http://elasmo-research.org/education/topics/ng_rhincodon_or_rhiniodon.htm.
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Wikispecies has information on: Rhincodon typus. |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rhincodontidae |
