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    Largest Fish in Sea: The Massive Mouth Used For Filter Feeding Is Over 3 Feet Wide

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    mednasrallah
    The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, growing up to 55 feet long. It filters plankton and small fish through its large gill slits and 3-foot wide mouth. Though a solitary species, whale sharks live up to 150 years and don't reach sexual maturity until around 30 years of age. Major threats include habitat loss, overfishing, and being caught in fishing nets, as they are protected but fisheries still operate in some areas.

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    Largest Fish in Sea: The Massive Mouth Used For Filter Feeding Is Over 3 Feet Wide

    Uploaded by

    mednasrallah
    45 views1 page
    The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, growing up to 55 feet long. It filters plankton and small fish through its large gill slits and 3-foot wide mouth. Though a solitary species, whale sharks live up to 150 years and don't reach sexual maturity until around 30 years of age. Major threats include habitat loss, overfishing, and being caught in fishing nets, as they are protected but fisheries still operate in some areas.

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    rr

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    Whales

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    The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, growing up to 55 feet long. It filters plankton and small fish through its large gill slits and 3-foot wide mouth. Though a solitary species, whale sharks live up to 150 years and don't reach sexual maturity until around 30 years of age. Major threats include habitat loss, overfishing, and being caught in fishing nets, as they are protected but fisheries still operate in some areas.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    45 views1 page

    Largest Fish in Sea: The Massive Mouth Used For Filter Feeding Is Over 3 Feet Wide

    Uploaded by

    mednasrallah
    The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, growing up to 55 feet long. It filters plankton and small fish through its large gill slits and 3-foot wide mouth. Though a solitary species, whale sharks live up to 150 years and don't reach sexual maturity until around 30 years of age. Major threats include habitat loss, overfishing, and being caught in fishing nets, as they are protected but fisheries still operate in some areas.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    Scientific name: Rhincodon typus

    Ways to identify this species:


    Whale sharks are grayish-brown with a white underbelly and white spots and lines. This species is the largest fish in the world measuring 20 - 55 feet in length. Whale sharks are usually seen in the open water.

    Biology

    Believed to have originated 60 million years ago, whale sharks are found in tropical and temperate waters worldwide at depths up to 100 feet. This species is a filter feeder and sieves plankton through its gills as it swims. It also feeds on fish, squid, and pelagic crustaceans by opening its huge mouth. Whale sharks have 5 large gill slits and the first gill slit (spiracle), which is used for breathing when the shark is resting on the sea floor, is located directly behind the shark's eye. This species can weigh up to 15 tons, and like most sharks, females are larger than males. Whale sharks have about 3,000 tiny teeth, which are of little use. This shark can process >1,500 gallons of water each hour. Whale sharks are solitary species but at 30 years they begin mating. This shark can live to an age of 100 - 150 years.

    Threats

    It is thought that the most significant threat to whale sharks is habitat loss or degradation in the form of overfishing of reef fish, coastal development, land-based pollution, increased boat traffic and noise pollution. Fishing for meat and fins, harassment and boat strikes also pose serious threats to whale sharks. Although whale sharks are protected under CITES, in some areas fisheries remain and continue to carry high prices.

    Found: Whale Sharks a reliably found, notably in Ningaloo Reef, the Galapagos Islands, islands off the west
    coast of Thailand, the Sea of Cortez and Baja California in the eastern Pacific , the Philippines, the Maldives, Seychelles and Belize

    Points:

    -largest fish in sea


    -The massive mouth used for filter feeding is over 3 feet wide.

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