The largest fish in the world

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest fish in the world by its size and cartilaginous skeleton. The average length of a whale shark is 18 to 32.8 feet (5.5 - 10 m). The new born whale shark is 21 to 25 inches (53 - 64 cm) long. Male grow slightly faster than women. The male shark reaches sexual maturity at the age of 30 with a size of 26 feet (8 m). The female shark reaches sexual maturity at the age of 50 with a size of 46 feet (14 m).

Whale shark is a slow-moving filter feeding shark. The whale shark has two-toned pattern of light spots on its dark grey back with a white underside. It has a broad, flat head, relatively small eyes, five large gill slits on each side, two dorsal fins, two long pectoral fins, two pelvic fins, one anal fin and a large tail. It has a vestigial spiracle behind the eye. It is an evolutionary remnant of its common ancestry with carpet sharks.

The whale shark has a huge mouth that can reach up to 4 feet (1.4 m) across. It is located on the front of the head. The adult whale shark skin is up to 4 inches (10 cm) thick and has strong rubbery consistency. It prevents the whale shark from the possible predators like killer whales, great white sharks, tiger sharks and humans.

Whale sharks are found in world-wide marine environments. But mainly found in the tropical Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Their incredible size helps them to survive long migrations to abundant food sources, when they cannot find enough food. Some whale shark swim across entire oceans to arrive just in time for a plankton bloom or a mass spawning of fish or coral eggs.

The whale shark is one of three large filter-feeding sharks. The whale shark search for food at or near the surface of the ocean. Its large mouth is well adapted to filter feeding and contains more than 300 rows of small, pointed teeth in each jaw. The teeth do not play a role in feeding. As the shark swims with its mouth open, seawater enters the mouth cavity and filters through the gill slits. The internal gill slits act like a sieve, catching plankton and other small organisms while allowing water to pass through and return to the sea. Inside the mouth, there is a special flap called velums. When it closes its mouth, it stops the backflow of water and prevents food loss. Periodically the shark closes its mouth and swallow the trapped prey. The captured prey includes both zooplankton (small animals such as copepods, shrimp, and other invertebrates) and phytoplankton (such as algae and other marine plant material). whale sharks also eat small and large fish and mollusks, including sardines, anchovies, mackerels, squid, and even small tuna and albacore.

Whale sharks give birth to very small babies (approximately 20 inches/45 cm). The whale shark is ovoviviparous, meaning the embryo is formed within an egg, which then hatches in the mother’s uterus. The young are released into the sea fully-formed. Whale sharks pose no danger to humans. Many individual whale sharks approached, examined, and even ridden by divers without showing any sign of aggression. They may, out of curiosity, approach and examine people in the water. Whale sharks are of little interest in commercial fishing. However, in some areas they were accidentally caught as bycatch. They were caught for food in Pakistan, India, Taiwan, the Philippines and China, where they are eaten fresh or dried and salted. Since 2016 the whale shark has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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