www.Primo.com: Know Whale Sharks.

The whale shark.

Rhincodon typus is the largest shark and the largest fish in the world . These sharks are called whale sharks because of his size and the enormous whale-like shape of a blunt head . Although the name suggests whale shark fish , this fish is not frightening because its main food is plankton. This shark gets its name
( Ingg. : whale shark ) because of its large size and eating habits by filtering sea water resembles most other types of whales . Also called by the name of leopard sharks ( which tend to be misleading name , because many types of patterned leopard shark ), referring to the color pattern on its back Popcorn , similar stars in the sky. These sharks wandering in tropical oceans and warm temperate seas , and can live up to 70 years old . This species is believed to come from about 60 million years ago .

Description .

The whale shark is the largest living animal in the world , outside of the pope . The average size of an adult animal is estimated at about 9.7 m ( 31.82 feet ) and weighing 9 tons . The largest specimens can be verified , was arrested on 11 November 1947 , in Karachi , Pakistan . Length is approximately 12.65 m ( 41.50 feet ) and weighed more than 21.5 tonnes , while the circumference of the body about 7 m ( 23.0 feet ) . Not infrequently the stories about the commotion latitudes are much bigger - with a length up to 18 m ( 59 feet ) and weigh up to 45.5 tonnes - but so far there is no scientific evidence .
As plankton eaters , who obtain their prey by filtering sea water , whale sharks have mouths that are large , up to 1.5 m wide ( 4.9 feet ) which contains 10 sheets of filter and about 300 to 350 rows of tiny teeth .
This fish also has five pairs of gills are large. Two small eyes are located at the front end of the head is flat and wide . General body color with a grayish- white belly ; are three elongated ridge on each side of the body , as well as painting spots and whitish yellow lines that form a checkerboard pattern . The pattern of spots - which is impressive as the stars - it is unique to each individual , and often used in the calculation of the population . Her skin up to 10 centimeters thick
( 3.9 in) . Dorsal fin and pectoral fins of each pair . In young animals , the longer the tail fin upper, while in the more mature animal fin shaped like a crescent moon.

Anatomy .

The whale shark measuring up to 14 meters long and weigh up to 15 tons . The average size is 7.5 meters . Like most sharks , the whale shark females larger than males whale sharks .
Whale sharks have large mouths that can be up to 1.4 meters in width . His mouth was on the tip of the snout , not at the bottom of the head like a shark in general . He has the head of a wide, flat , rounded snout , small eyes , 5 very large gill slits , 2 dorsal fins , and 2 pectoral fins ( on its sides ) . The whale shark has 3,000 teeth are very small but are rarely used . Whale sharks are filter feeders
( filter feeders ) using a large gills .
Its tail has a top fin much larger than the lower fin fin . Whale sharks have a body color with a distinctive style that is light yellow speckled and striped with random patterns on his skin color dark gray . Her skin is very thick at 10 cm .

Habitat .

Whale Sharks inhabit all tropical and temperate oceans warm temperature. Known migratory fish every spring to the continental shelf in the coastal region of western Australia . Spawning season in the coral animals known to Ningaloo Reef has increased the availability of plankton for these big fish . Although usually live in the middle of the ocean surf , seasonally seen the commotion groups latitudes looking for food around the coastal continent , such as in western Australia ; South Africa ( southern and eastern coasts ) ; Belize ; Philippines ; Indian ; Indonesia ; Honduras ; Madagascar ; Mexico ; Mozambique ; Tanzania , as well as Zanzibar . Not infrequently these fish were seen entering or atoll lagoon , or close to estuaries ( river mouth ) .
Travel area generally do not cross the 30 ° latitude , north and south . This shark is known to dive to depths of 1,286 m ( 4,219 feet ), and classified as migratory fish. In 2011 recorded the existence of a collection of commotion latitude , the highest ever recorded , ie, up to about 400 individuals , who gather around the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico to feed on larvae of a type of tuna, Euthynnus alletteratus .

Food .

The whale shark is one of three species of sharks , which are known to feed by filtering sea water . The food of these is plankton , krill , crab larvae beach , macro algae, as well as small animals such as squid nektonik or small vertebrates. Tantrum latitude are also known to prey on small fish and scattering millions of eggs and sperm fish floating in the sea water during the spawning season of fish swarm. This giant shark eating passively by opening his mouth wide while swimming slowly , allowing sea water freely enter and exit at the back of the oral cavity through the gill slits , while the food is filtered by the filter sheets in his mouth . Sometimes too , tantrum latitude actively eating with his mouth open and close , so the sea water sucked into the mouth and then pressed out through the gill slits . In the second way , the water will penetrate the filter sheet - which presumably is a modification of the gill comb filter - is almost parallel to the sheets , and not the direction perpendicular to it , while the more concentrated the flow of food into the esophagus fish kept walking . Rows of small teeth in the mouth of the fish does not seem to play a role in the process of eating . Occasionally, tantrum latitude seen ' cough ' in the water, this may be a mechanism to clean the filter from dirt sheet stuff it . These sharks are known to migrate long distances to get food , and perhaps also for breeding .

Reproduction .

Whale sharks adult females at the age of 30 years . These fish reproduce by means of lambing ( vivivar ) . Sharks give birth to many children in one pregnancy . Baby whale shark born with a length of about 60 cm . It is estimated that these animals can live in the sea between 100 to 150 years.

Fish are benign .

Apart from a very large size, whale sharks are not known to be harmful to humans. Although a big man, tantrum latitude marine animals that are docile and sometimes allow divers to ride, although this action is not justified by shark researchers and conservationists. Young latitude tantrum is actually quite gentle and can be invited to play by the divers. Swim with slow, the fish often found in many divers dive sites in the tropics, including in Thailand, the Maldives, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka and others.

Behavior .

Whale sharks are solitary animals ( aloof ) . Groups of whale sharks rarely seen . The whale shark is a slow swimmer , with a speed of not more than 5 km / h . These fish swim by moving the entire body from side to side ( not only rely on its tail , as in some species of sharks ) . Whale sharks are harmless to humans , fish is even indifferent to divers touching or riding .

Conservation .

Whale shark increasingly rare and endangered animals including . This fish in some parts of Asia such as the Philippines , Taiwan and India hunted by local fishermen , although it has been protected by law .
Population tantrum latitude threatened by fishing activities (using harpoons ) , or inadvertently carried in a fishing net . Fishermen in various places ( India , Pakistan , Maldives , Taiwan , and the Philippines ) capture and trade of this fish to meat , liver oil , as well as high-priced fins . In Indonesia , almost every year reported the presence of the leopard shark that washed up on shore or caught in fishing nets . Note there are at least from 1980 , when a commotion latitude stranded on beach Ancol , until recently , when two similar fish get lost and die on the southern coast of Yogyakarta in August 2012. However , the incidence is highest around the Madura Strait , where the high traffic of ships and fishing nets complexity may contribute to death each year in the latitude tantrum .
IUCN , the world conservation body , thereby entering the latitude tantrum population to the status of Vulnerable ( Vulnerable ) . Vulnerabilities facing commercial fishing is inferred because of the high value in trade , nature always wander and migrate over long distances , according to the nature of his selection pattern-K, as well as the generally low abundance. Together with six other species of shark , tantrum latitudes has also been incorporated into the list of the Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU ) on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks under the Bonn Convention .
Conservation and protection of this kind has also been done several countries , mainly in the form of a ban on hunting , capture and trade of shark this big . Philippines , for example , has issued a ban on catching , selling , importing or exporting since 1998. This ban was followed by India in 2001 and Taiwan in 2007 . Maldives has even been protecting since 1995. But in Indonesia, the animals still have not received adequate attention .

Note taxonomists .

This shark is the only member of the genus Rhincodon and Rhincodontidae rate ( called Rhiniodon and Rhinodontidae before 1984) , including the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes . Latitude commotion began to be known in the science world April 1828 , when a fish of this type of harpoon hit in South Africa . Specimens along the 4.6 m ( 15.1 ft) was then be described in the following year by Andrew Smith , a military physician and zoologist who lives in Cape Town . Thank you for reading this article .
Written and posted by Bambang Sunarno. sunarnobambang86@gmail.com
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DatePublished: December 23, 2013 at 17:04