whale shark
Also known as Rhincodon typus
species of fish
AI overview
A whale shark is the world's largest fish species, growing to enormous sizes in tropical ocean waters. Despite their massive size, they are gentle filter feeders that eat small organisms and pose no threat to humans, making them important subjects for marine conservation and ecotourism.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Species
basking shark
Species
- PhylumChordata
- ClassElasmobranchii
- OrderOrectolobiformes
- FamilyRhincodontidae
Habitatmarine
Der Walhai (Rhincodon typus) ist der größte Hai und zugleich der größte Fisch der Gegenwart. Es handelt sich um die einzige Art der Gattung Rhincodon, die wiederum die einzige Gattung innerhalb der Familie Rhincodontidae ist. Der Walhai gehört der Ordnung der Ammenhaiartigen an. Die Tiere bewohnen die tropischen bis subtropischen Meere und kommen sowohl küstennah als auch küstenfern vor. Sie ernähren sich ähnlich wie Riesenhaie und Riesenmaulhaie von Plankton und anderen Kleinstlebewesen (Krill), die sie durch Ansaugen des Wassers filtrieren. Synonyme sind R. typicus Müller & Henle, 1839, R. pentalineatus Kishinouye, 1891, R. typus Smith, 1829, R. typus Smith, 1828 sowie Micristodus punctatus Gill, 1865.
via
Article
Size of whale shark individuals with a human for scale The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. An individual with a length of 18.8 m (61.7 ft) has been considered the largest reliably recorded. The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living non-cetacean animal. It is the only living species of the genus Rhincodon and the only extant member of the family Rhincodontidae, which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. Before 1984, it was classified as Rhiniodon into Rhinodontidae. An extinct species, Rhincodon ferriolensis, was described in Europe (probably in Spain), in the Late Burdigalian stage.
The whale shark is an active filter feeder, primarily consuming plankton, krill, fish eggs, and small schooling fish such as sardines and anchovies. The shark can process over 6,000 liters of water per hour through its specialized sieve-like gill pads. Highly migratory, the whale shark travels thousands of miles across tropical oceans to exploit seasonal food sources, with large, predictable feeding aggregations occurring at coastal sites such as Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and off the coast of Gujarat and Kerala in India. Despite its immense size, the whale shark is docile and poses no significant threat to humans. It is currently listed as an Endangered species on the IUCN Red List owing to a population decline of more than 50% over the last 75 years, primarily as a result of targeted fishing, bycatch in other fisheries, and collisions with large ships.
Gallery (13)
Connections
Categories
Extant Oligocene first appearancesFauna listed on CITES Appendix IIFish described in 1828Fish of the Atlantic OceanFish of the Indian OceanFish of the Pacific OceanIUCN Red List endangered speciesOvoviviparous fishPantropical fishRhincodontidaeSymbols of Western AustraliaTaxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist)