The Life of Animals | Whale shark | The whale shark inhabits all tropical and warm-temperate seas. The coral spawning of the area's Ningaloo Reef provides the whale shark with an abundant supply of plankton. Two small eyes are located Towards the front of the shark's wide, flat head. The shark has a pair each of dorsal fins and pectoral fins. Juveniles' tails have a larger upper than lower fin while the adult tail Becomes semi-lunate (crescent-shaped).
The whale shark is largest animal in the world outside of the large cetaceans. The average size of adult whale shark is estimated at 9.7 meters (31.82 ft) and 9 tonnes (20.000 lb). The largest verified specimen was caught on November 11, 1947, near Baba Island, in Karachi, Pakistan. It was 12.65 meters (41.50 ft) long, weighed more than 21.5 tonnes (47.000 lb), and had a girth of 7 meters (23.0 ft). Stories exist of vastly larger specimens quoted lengths of 18 meters (59 ft) are not uncommon in the popular shark literature, but no scientific records Their support for existence. In 1868 the Irish natural scientist Edward Perceval Wright obtained Several small whale shark specimens in the Seychelles, but claimed to have observed specimens in excess of 15 meters (49.2 ft), and Tells of reports of specimens surpassing 21 meters (68.9 ft).
The shark was too heavy to pull ashore, but Smith estimated That the shark was at least 17 meters (56 ft) long, and weighed approximately 37 tonnes (82.000 lb). A shark caught in 1994 off of Tainan County, southern Taiwan reportedly weighed 35.8 tonnes (79.000 lb). There have even been claims of whale sharks of up to 23 meters (75 ft). In 1934 a ship named the Maurguani CAME across a whale shark in the Southern Pacific Ocean, rammed it, and the shark consequently Became stuck on the prow of the ship, Supposedly with 4.6 meters (15.1 ft) on one side and 12.2 meters (40.0 ft) on the other. No reliable documentation exists for these claims and They Remain "fish-stories".
The eggs Remain in the body and the females give birth to live young the which are 40 to 60 centimetres (16 to 24 in.) long. On March 7, 2009, Marine Scientists in the Philippines discovered what is believed to be the smallest living specimen of the whale shark.
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