Five fascinating facts about whale sharks

Five fascinating facts about whale sharks

M. Zahirul Islam, email: marinelife.al@gmail.com

Whale sharks are the world’s largest living fish, with fully-grown adults weighing as much as three elephants. Despite their size, these ocean giants traverse thousands of kilometers annually. Multiple species undergo migration to the warm waters of the world ocean, specifically between April and July each year.

Whale sharks, which belong to the shark family, reach lengths of up to 18 meters and can weigh as much as 19 tonnes. While they are capable of diving to depths exceeding one kilometer, they are often observed swimming near the shoreline. Year after year, divers and snorkelers eagerly gather at whale shark sighting locations in the Indian Ocean Caribbean seas and Southeast Asian regions, drawn by the opportunity to swim alongside these magnificent and gentle creatures.

Five remarkable insights about whale sharks:

· Filter feeders: Despite possessing thousands of teeth, whale sharks do not use them for eating. Instead, they open their mouths, which can reach up to 1.5 meters wide, and consume their food whole. They rely on their gills to filter tiny plankton, small fish, and crustaceans from the water.

· Teeth on their eyes: While many shark species, including whale sharks, have teeth-like scales that give their skin a rough texture, recent studies have unveiled the presence of tiny teeth known as dermal denticles on the eyeballs of some whale sharks. This unique characteristic is not observed in any other vertebrates.

· Ovoviviparous reproduction: Female whale sharks produce eggs that hatch internally. They give birth to live young and can deliver around 300 babies at once. In most shark species, female individuals tend to be bigger than their male counterparts.

· Cartilaginous skeletons: Whale sharks, together with all sharks, skates, and rays, possess skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone.

· Longevity: Whale sharks have relatively long lifespans, typically between 70 and 100 years. However, they do not begin reproducing until they reach approximately 30.

Regrettably, whale sharks are classified as endangered due to the declining nature of their population. They face numerous threats, including rising temperatures, pollution, ocean acidification, and the danger of getting entangled in fishing nets or injured by ship propellers.

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