Amazing & Intresting Whale Shark
Advertisment
| Whale Shark |
 |
 |
 |
| Monday, 30 November 2009 00:00 |
  This distinctively-marked shark is the only member of its genus Rhincodon and its family, Rhincodontidae (called Rhinodontes before 1984), which is grouped into the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes.    The species was first identified in April 1828 following the harpooning of a 4.6-metre (15.1 ft) specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. It was described the following year by Andrew Smith, a military doctor associated with British troops stationed in Cape Town. He proceeded to publish a more detailed description of the species in 1849. The name "whale shark" comes from the fish's physiology; that is, a shark as large as a whale that shares a similar filter feeder eating mode. Known as a deity in a Vietnamese religion, the whale shark is called "Ca Ong", which literally translates as "Sir Fish".    In Mexico, and throughout much of Latin America, the whale shark is known as "pez dama" or "domino" for its patterns of spots. Whales sharks go by the name of "Sapodilla Tom" in Belize due to the regularity of sightings near the Sapodilla Cayes on the Belize Barrier Reef. In Africa, the names for the whale shark are very evocative: "Papa Shillingi" in Kenya came about as it is believed that God threw shillings upon the shark which are now its spots, and in Madagascar whale sharks are known locally as "Marokintana" which means "Many stars". In Indonesia, Javanese also called this species referring to star as "geger lintang" which has meaning "stars in the back".    The whale shark is a filter feeder — one of only three known filter feeding shark species (along with the basking shark and the megamouth shark). It feeds on phytoplankton, macro-algae, plankton, krill and small nektonic life, such as small squid or vertebrates. The many rows of teeth play no role in feeding; in fact, they are reduced in size in the whale shark. Instead, the shark sucks in a mouthful of water, closes its mouth and expels the water through its gills.    During the slight delay between closing the mouth and opening the gill flaps, plankton is trapped against the dermal denticles which line its gill plates and pharynx. This fine sieve-like apparatus, which is a unique modification of the gill rakers, prevents the passage of anything but fluid out through the gills (anything above 2 to 3 mm in diameter is trapped). Any material caught in the filter between the gill bars is swallowed. Whale sharks have been observed "coughing" and it is presumed that this is a method of clearing a build up of food particles in the gill rakers.   Whale sharks congregate at reefs off the Belizean Caribbean coast, supplementing their ordinary diet by feeding on the spawn of giant cubera snappers, which spawn in these waters between the full and new moons of March through September.     CREATELINKTOWARDSTHISARTICLE PREVIEWQUOTE
Whale Shark The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow moving filter feeding shark that is the largest living fish... © 2010 - Amazing & Interesting World |
More Articles...
Masterpiece-Replicas Out of Sl Creating art out of food is not always easy, and if that food happens to be sliced salami, well, We’d say you’d have your work cut out for you. But someone managed to create replicas of masterpieces like The....... READMORE |
Technology At Its Best: For Ca Technology At Its Best For Car Enthusiasts... READMORE |
O House The O House by Philippe Stubbei however, is a home with a white concrete facade that has circular openings, giving this illusion....... READMORE |
Removing milk from eye World Record of ilker yilmaz for taking the milk in from nose and removing it from the eye...... READMORE |
Fighting ouzels Yup, apparently they’re not just harmless birds with phenomenal voices but also very good fighters when they need to be. In India fights between short-legged........ READMORE |
The Largest in the World This man-made saltwater lagoon has been attracting huge crowds to the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, on Chile's southern coast, since it opened last ... READMORE |
- + 6 |
|
Tell a friend
 |  |
Main Menu
Email Subscription
More Picks ...
World's Biggest Bowl in Malaysia se
People pose for photos in front of the world's biggest bowl
World Record Bubble Blower
Susan Montgomery Williams got a world record for the bigges
Man claims world record by smashing
A man has broken a world record by smashing 47 watermelons
Two-Headed Turtle
March 17, 2006—In biology, two heads are rarely better than
Haj Pilgrimage in 1953 - Rare Pictu
The pilgrimage is associated with the life of Muhammad, but
Underwater TV Watching Record
114 soccer supporters. 1 large dive tank. 1 record. to atte
Ashera, rarest cat in the world
Actually the Ashera is not only the rarest, but also the lar
Cruise Ship
THE world's largest cruise ship will feature a Central Park-
Moving Rocks
It was a challenge to get information on the moving rocks at
Wooden bike
We’ve seen chairs and tables made of this stuff, but you nev
Top of Tyrol
Nnsbruck-based architects Astearchitecture have completed a
Whale massacre in Europe
This “bay of blood” set somewhere in the Faroe Islands is wh
Giant Catfish - Largest Freshwater
Fishers in northern Thailand netted this huge catfish in th
Cat Man - the human tiger
As obsessions go this has to be one of the weirdest known t
Unusual collection of furniture
Sure, many of these are very original artistic pieces, but s
Sock - the pet Lama
We’ve heard of a seal as a pet, but a Lama, that’s something
One Dangerous Poney Ride
The worst aspect of this predicament is those poneys got a v
A History Of Bizzare Transplant Sur
The most amazing and crazy History Of Bizzare Transplant Su