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Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center

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Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center
Phone:
+504 2425-3760

Hours:
SundayClosed
Monday9am - 5pm
Tuesday9am - 5pm
Wednesday9am - 5pm
Thursday9am - 5pm
Friday9am - 5pm
Saturday10am - 4pm


The whale shark is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 12.65 m and a weight of about 21.5 t . The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate. It is the sole member 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. The whale shark is found in open waters of the tropical oceans and is rarely found in water below 21 °C . Modeling suggests a lifespan of about 70 years, but measurements have proven difficult. Whale sharks have very large mouths and are filter feeders, which is a feeding mode that occurs in only two other sharks, the megamouth shark and the basking shark. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and small fishes, and pose no threat to humans. The species was distinguished in April 1828 after the harpooning of a 4.6 m specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. Andrew Smith, a military doctor associated with British troops stationed in Cape Town, described it the following year. The name whale shark refers to the fish's size, being as large as some species of whales, and also to its being a filter feeder like baleen whales.
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