Among sea inhabitants at people sharks enjoy wide popularity. But almost everyone is afraid to meet them face to face, many of them are deadly, and often the meeting comes to an end with serious misfortune. An exception are the biggest sharks in the world - whale. They are harmless for the person.
Whale shark - the giant in the ocean
If to speak about the biggest sharks, then the palm is held by whale sharks, the Latin name of a look - Rhincodon typus. These giants are indeed similar to huge water mammals - whales. According to some data, the size of a whale shark is 20 meters in length weighing 12 tons, and other sources give numbers much more: 20 tons with a length of 20 meters.The whale shark can be met both in northern cold waters, and in the southern water massifs. In the latter case they are found in the tropical and subtropical seas. Prefer open waters, but occasionally can come also in shallow water. The greatest number meets on Philippines, in Indonesia, Australia. Whale sharks live about the same as and the person - on average 70 years.
AppearanceThe biggest fish on Earth, having seen, it is difficult not to learn. It is given by white strips or spots which cover a gray-brown or bluish body. It is established that it is similar to fingerprints at the person, the drawing created by these marks at each copy is absolutely unique. A peculiar appearance of a whale shark gives food for imagination. Thanks to it in many countries of the world she received different beautiful names. So, in the South American states she is called by "dominoes", in Africa - "dad shilling" (she received such name because of the legend according to which God dumped white shillings on fish, and on her body they turned into spots), and on the islands of Java and Madagascar it is accepted to call it "starry" or "a star back". It is interesting that when swimming the whale shark uses all the body that a rarity for fishes who usually use only a fin. At the same time average speed of movement of a whale shark of only 5 km/h.
Features of food of a whale shark
Despite the huge sizes, this species of sharks for the person it is harmless. Such situation speaks quite simply: a whale shark as well as the whale, eats plankton. And thanks to the sizes, she imposingly feels in water as she has no opponents. Perhaps, thanks to such way of livelihood the whale shark is not similar to most of the relatives for whom a delicious dish are squids, octopuses, seals and of course fish. She is quite quiet and not blood-thirsty inhabitant of the ocean, besides with a pleasant color. The whale shark has very small eyes, huge branchiate cracks and a mouth. Actually, the mouth stretches from an eye to an eye and has up to 15000 small teeth. In it five people can be located entirely. By means of the peculiar natural filter they involve the considerable mass of plankton to themselves inside. In a day she eats to two centner of plankton and small crustaceans, missing through herself more than 300 tons of water. Adult sharks most often eat on the surface of the ocean, and the young growth filters water in search of food at a depth.