Page 330 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

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ORDER ORECTOLOBIFORMES
Whale Shark

Rhincodon typus run the length of its body, and it has a
LENGTH 40–65 ft large, sickle-shaped tail. The pattern of FEASTING ON
(12–20 m) white spots on its back is unique to PLANKTON
WEIGHT Over 13 tons each fish, enabling scientists, through
(12 metric tons) inside, but it is a harmless filter feeder analysis of photographs, to identify Every year, around April, whale
DEPTH Surface, deep that eats only plankton and small fish. individuals. While little is known of
water in winter To obtain the huge amount of food it their ocean travels, satellite tagging sharks migrate to Ningaloo Reef
DISTRIBUTION Tropical and temperate waters needs, it sucks water into its mouth has shown that some whale sharks off northwestern Australia for a
worldwide and pumps it out over its gills, where migrate across entire oceans. Whale plankton feast. The plankton
particles of food become trapped by shark eggs hatch inside the mother, explosion results from a
The whale shark is a graceful, bony projections called gill rakers and and she gives birth to live young. simultaneous mass spawning
slow-moving giant and the largest fish are later swallowed. This shark has the Whale sharks are killed for their meat of the reef ’s corals, possibly
in the world. At 5 ft (1.5 m) wide, its thickest skin of any animal, at up to and fins (used in soup), although they triggered by the full moon.
mouth is large enough to fit a human 4 in (10 cm) thick. Prominent ridges are legally protected in some countries.

ORDER LAMNIFORMES ORDER LAMNIFORMES and they are quite docile in captivity
despite their chilling appearance. The
Megamouth Shark Sandtiger Shark sandtiger shark has a flattened, conical
snout, is light brown in color, and its
Megachasma pelagios body is often speckled with darker
Carcharias taurus
1
LENGTH At least LENGTH Up to 10 / 2 ft spots. It lives in shallow coastal waters,
18 ft (5.5 m) (3.2 m) especially on reefs and in rough, rocky
WEIGHT Not recorded WEIGHT Up to 350 lb areas with gullies and caves. Although
(160 kg) it spends most of its time near the sea
DEPTH 0–540 ft
(0–165 m) DEPTH 0–625 ft (0–190 m) floor, it can hover in mid-water by
filling its stomach with air gulped in
DISTRIBUTION Little known, but probably worldwide basking shark, it is a filter feeder, DISTRIBUTION Warm-temperate and tropical coastal at the surface.
in the tropics gulping down huge mouthfuls of waters, except eastern Pacific The mother gives birth to two live
shrimp, which it probably compresses young at a time, one from each of a
This gigantic shark was discovered as with its huge tongue. At night it Also known as the ragged-tooth pair of uteri every other year. Within
recently as 1976, when one became follows the shrimp toward the surface shark and the gray nurse shark, the each uterus there are many other
entangled in the folds of a ship’s sea and is thought to attract them with sandtiger shark is fearsome to look at. embryos, and the strongest embryo
anchor. Like the whale shark and bioluminescent tissue inside its mouth. It is heavily built and its daggerlike, in each uterus kills and eats its siblings
menacing teeth protrude, even when along with any unfertilized eggs before
its mouth is closed. Many people will it is born. Sandtiger sharks are widely
ORDER LAMNIFORMES passes up to 395,000 gallons (1.5 have seen these sharks in aquariums, hunted for both sport and food.
million liters) of seawater through the
Basking Shark huge gills that almost encircle its head.
Its liver runs the length of the
Cetorhinus maximus abdominal cavity and is filled
LENGTH 20–36 ft with oil to aid buoyancy.
(6–11 m)
WEIGHT Up to 7.7 tons
(7 metric tons)
DEPTH 3,937 ft
OCEAN LIFE waters worldwide
(1,200 m)
DISTRIBUTION Cold- to warm-temperate coastal
The world’s second-largest fish, the
basking shark is protected in several
countries. In summer, it swims
open-mouthed at the surface, filtering
out plankton. Every hour, the shark