Despite the resemblance in its name, the whale shark isn’t a whale.
It’s also not part of the marine mammal family.
The whale shark is the world’s largest fish or shark, for that matter.
The name whale shark comes from the fact that this shark species can grow as large as some whale species.
It also happens to be a filter feeder, just like baleen whales.
When fully grown, the whale shark can grow to lengths of 40 ft., although some researchers speculate that 40 ft. may be a conservative number.
Physical Characteristics and Appearance
As stated earlier, the whale shark is the largest fish/shark in the world!
If you exclude the cetacean species (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), the whale shark is the largest living animal in existence regarding length.
The average male whale shark grows to just over 30 ft in length, although there are reports of whale sharks growing well over 40 ft.
Unfortunately, no official records exist to confirm lengths over 40 ft.
These sharks have vast mouths that can reach nearly five ft. wide and contain up to 350 rows of teeth.
The head is flat, and the eyes are located near the front of the head.
Unlike whales and Cetacea, the whale shark breathes through gills, allowing it to extract oxygen from the water.
On the other hand, whales must come to the surface to breathe; otherwise, they will drown.
The whale shark has five large pairs of gills to pull oxygen out of the water.
Their skin is mostly a grayish color with a white under-body/belly.
The skin is also covered in pale yellow or white spots, which are unique among each whale shark, just like fingerprints are unique to each human.
They have a pair of dorsal fins and pectoral fins, which help them maintain water stability and provide better control when swimming.
Diet
Whale sharks aren’t active hunters like other sharks known to chase, attack, and tear their prey apart with their teeth.
Whale sharks are filter feeders meaning they consume food by swimming toward it with their mouths open, engulfing the prey that enters their mouth.
Like most filter feeds, these sharks typically have a diet consisting of small prey, and in the case of this shark, their diet consists mainly of plankton, krill, shrimp, larvae, and algae, among other tiny lifeforms.
Habitat
Whale sharks can travel throughout the world’s warm and tropical oceans.
Every spring, these sharks migrate toward the central west coast of Australia, where they congregate for their seasonal feeding season.
The coral composition of the area’s Ningaloo Reef supplies the whale shark with plenty of plankton.
Behavior
Unlike other species of shark, the whale shark is not considered a threat to humans.
They don’t even hunt marine mammals.
They are filter feeds, and like most filter feeders, their diets consist of tiny prey, much smaller than humans.
In some cases, the whale shark has been said to be relatively friendly and playful with divers and may even let a diver hold on for a ride.
Although most don’t consider whale sharks dangerous, scientists warn them to be careful around them and not provoke them with lots of physical contacts.
While these sharks aren’t known to attack humans, some speculate that a human could get caught in its large mouth. However, even if this were to occur, the throat of a whale shark is relatively small, and it would be impossible for the shark to consume a person.
Breeding
Unfortunately, little is known about whale shark reproduction and breeding habits.
What is known is that the whale shark is ovoviviparous, meaning that the shark lays its eggs internally and carries them until birth, as compared to other shark and fish species that drop their eggs in the ocean.
Whale sharks may also be able to hold several hundred eggs at a time.
In July 1996, a female whale shark was captured pregnant with 300 eggs.
Scientists speculate that the female whale shark gives birth to her children over some time (meaning the eggs hatch at different times) as opposed to all of the eggs hatching at the same time.
As you can imagine, it would be difficult for a female whale shark to simultaneously deal with 300 eggs hatching.
Threats
The whale shark faces several threats that can affect its survival.
Some of the most common or proposed threats include habitat degradation or destruction, sound pollution, ship/boat collisions, and migration interference.
Habitat Degradation/Destruction
Habitat degradation or destruction can occur in areas where commercialization is happening, which often results in large construction operations that can harm the habitat of local marine life.
Water pollution and waste may also contribute to habitat degradation by polluting the water, which can either directly impact the health of whale sharks or indirectly affects them by poisoning their food supply, which they rely on for survival.
Sound Pollution
While sharks do not use sound for communication, they can detect the vibrations made by sound, which can help them locate prey or nearby marine life.
The creation and distribution of loud artificial noises may interfere with the whale shark’s ability to detect vibration signals appropriately.
This may lead to issues related to locating prey and migrating from one area to the next.
Ship/Boat Collisions
Commercialized zones that large foster numbers of boats/ships can increase the danger or likelihood of marine animals being struck by passing aquatic vehicles.
Commercial zones may include heavy fishing areas, transport routes, and tourism destinations.
Migration Interference
Migration interference has also been listed as a possible threat to the whale shark.
Interference may be caused by artificial sounds that confuse the whale shark as they rely on sound vibrations to understand their environment.
It can also be caused by habit degradation from construction work or expanding commercial projects.
The prevention of migration may create issues in whale shark habitat sustainability, as being cut off from certain areas or other whale sharks can adversely affect reproduction and the population size of whale sharks in specific habitats.
10 Whale Shark Facts that May Surprise You
- Because the whale shark is a cold-blooded fish, it extracts oxygen from the water through its gills and lays eggs compared to warm-blooded mammals, breathes air, gives birth, and produces milk to feed its young.
- The scientific name for the whale shark is “Rhincodon typus.”
- Despite being the largest known shark (and largest non-cetacean animal) in the world, these fish do not hunt marine mammals as they are slow and lack the teeth needed for tearing the flesh off.
- These fish are currently listed as a vulnerable species due to their small population. However, they are still hunted in certain parts of the world.
- A fully grown whale shark can weigh more than three adult elephants.
- Throughout a lifetime, a whale shark can lay thousands of eggs.
- Although the whale shark is significantly larger than most animals in the ocean, it faces occasional threats from other sharks and killer whales.
- A healthy whale shark is estimated to have a lifespan of up to 100 years.
- A large adult whale shark can grow to be about half the size of a fully-grown blue whale.
- A whale shark’s skin can measure up to 4 inches thick.