How Many Pounds Does A Whale Shark Weigh

Whale sharks are the ocean’s largest fish and the sole members of the prehistoric Rhincodontidae family. Scientists believe the whale shark species originated some 60 million years ago. These large fish are often considered, by those who study them, to be the ocean’s friendly giant due to their peaceful nature and diet of microscopic plankton and small ocean nekton. Whale sharks inhabit the open waters in the world’s tropical oceans and are rarely found in waters with temperatures below 21 °C (70 °F). Whale sharks are classified as an endangered species.

Whale sharks can grow up to 40 feet (12 meters) long, but on average they grow to 18 to 32.8 feet (5.5 to 10 m) and weigh 20.6 tons (18.7 metric tonnes). That’s about the size of a school bus. Great white sharks may get more attention, but they are dwarfed by whale sharks. Great whites are the world’s largest predatory fish, according to Discovery. They grow to be about 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6.1 meters) or more and can weigh more than 5,000 lbs. (2,268 kilograms). Whale sharks are not predatory.

As the largest fish in the sea, reaching lengths of 40 feet or more, whale sharks have an enormous menu from which to choose. Fortunately for most sea-dwellers and us!their favorite meal is plankton. They scoop these tiny plants and animals up, along with any small fish that happen to be around, with their colossal gaping mouths while swimming close to the water’s surface. Whale sharks tend to like warmer areas and are found in tropical waters all over the world. Some have been spotted in cooler waters, such as those off the coast of New York. Most whale sharks — 75 percent — are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans; 25 percent in the Atlantic, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Characteristics Of A Whale Shark

The whale shark’s flattened head sports a blunt snout above its mouth with short barbels protruding from its nostrils. Its back and sides are gray to brown with white spots among pale vertical and horizontal stripes, and its belly is white. Its two dorsal fins are set rearward on its body, which ends in a large dual-lobbed caudal fin (or tail).

Breeding And Social Structure Of A Whale Shark:

Little is known about their breeding and social structures. Whale shark females produce eggs, but the young hatch inside of the mother instead of in the water like most fish. A female giving birth has never been observed. It is not known where pupping occurs or where the youngest animals situate. Upon giving birth, the mother whale shark leaves her young to fend for themselves. It is estimated that less than 10 percent of whale sharks born survive to adulthood. At age 25, whale sharks reach sexual maturity and will have their own young. Adults are often found feeding at the surface but may dive to 1000m. While whale sharks are solitary creatures, they often share their feeding grounds with other whale sharks.

Whale Shark Diet

These sharks don’t attack and tear apart their prey like most many of their relatives. While they are meat-loving carnivores, whale sharks are filter feeders, according to National Geographic. They open their mouths, let water come in and their bodies filter out food, and release the water and any debris back into the ocean.

Plankton are their main food source, but they also eat shrimp, algae and other marine plant material, sardines, anchovies, mackerels, squid, tuna and albacore. They also eat fish eggs. According to The Nature Conservatory, whale sharks will wait as long as 14 hours for fish to spawn on reefs. Then, they will swoop in and eat the eggs.

How Much Does A Whale Shark Weigh

The average weight of a whale shark is roughly 9 tonnes (20,000 pounds). Whale sharks are the heaviest fish in the sea. Estimates put the average weight of whale sharks at just around 9 tonnes (20,000) pounds. However, several larger specimens have been recorded. The same whale shark mentioned in the section above weighed about 21.5 tonnes (47,000 lb), according to measurements by researchers.

A whale shark is the largest among all the shark species. It is also the largest among the fish species. Due to its size, the whale shark usually swims in open waters of the tropical oceans and rarely found in water below 70 °F (21 °C). If this is so, then how big is the whale shark? Is the whale shark really that big? Well, the whale shark is not only the largest among fish species, it is also the largest among non-mammalian animals. Scientists observed that whale sharks can be up to 40 feet or longer. The whale shark is so big that at times it is hard for them to eat. This shark species sometimes finds it hard to carry their body. We’ll therefore discuss the fascinating facts about the size of the whale shark in the following subheadings.

What Is The Size Of A Full-Grown Whale Shark

The whale sharks can weigh up to 20.6 tons. They can also grow up to 40 feet (12 meters long). This is the highest statistic for any fish.

In the fish species, the largest fish is the whale shark. They are very big in size, weight and all around.

How Big Is A Whale Shark In Feet

A whale shark can be able to grow up to 40 feet (12 meters) long. On average, a whale shark can grow up to 18 to 32.8 feet (5.5 to 10m). The only sea creatures that can come close to this measurement is the blue whale. Thus, the blue whale almost has the same measurement as the whale sharks. However, they are not fishes, but mammals.

How Big Is A Newborn Whale Shark

The newborn whale sharks are about 16 to 24 inches in length at birth. The baby whale shark is not so little even when they are born.

Of course, they are the largest species of sharks in the ocean today.

Do Whale Sharks Have Teeth

Whale sharks do have teeth hundreds of them, in fact but they are tiny and used for filter feeding. Though whale sharks are indeed sharks, they differ from other sharks in several respects. Unlike many other sharks, whale sharks’ mouths are located at the front of the head rather than on the underside of the head. Whale sharks are also filter feeders (like whales, but not like most sharks). The mouth of a whale shark contains 300 to 350 rows of tiny teeth and 10 filter pads which it uses to filter feed.

How Long Do Whale Sharks Live?

Whale sharks typically live 70 to 100 years. Everything about whale sharks is big — including their lifespans. Whale sharks reach sexual maturity at age 30 and can live up to age 100. 

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