You can sponsor this page

Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828

Whale shark
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Rhincodon typus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Videos | Stamps, coins, misc. | Google image
Image of Rhincodon typus (Whale shark)
Rhincodon typus
Picture by Wirtz, P.


Nicaragua country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Also Ref. 43278.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/nu.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Compagno, L.J.V., 1984
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names ชื่อสามัญ | ชื่อพ้อง | Catalog of Fishes(สกุล, ชนิด) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

sub class Elasmobranchii (ฉลามและกระเบน) (sharks and rays) > Orectolobiformes (Carpet sharks) > Rhincodontidae (Whale shark)
Etymology: Rhincodon: rhinc, presumably a typographical error for rhine (Gr.), rasp, but often mistranslated as rhynchos (Gr.), snout; odon, tooth, referring to small, slightly curved teeth, “placed in longitudinal rows, and altogether so disposed towards the anterior edges of jaws as to exhibit the resemblance of a rasp or file lying across each”. (See ETYFish);  typus: Serving as type species of the genus. (See ETYFish).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range นิเวศวิทยา

เกี่ยวกับทะเล,น้ำเค็ม; สัตว์น้ำที่อาศัยและอพยพภายในทะเลเท่านั้น (Ref. 51243); ระดับความลึก 0 - 1928 m (Ref. 106604), usually 0 - 100 m (Ref. 89972).   Subtropical; 18°C - 30°C (Ref. 35465); 45°N - 48°S, 180°W - 180°E

การแพร่กระจาย ประเทศต่างๆ | พื้นที่จำแนกตาม FAO | ระบบนิเวศหลายระบบ | การปรากฏขึ้น,การเกิดขึ้น,พบ | Point map | การแนะนำ | Faunafri

Circumglobal, all tropical and warm temperate seas except the Mediterranean.

Length at first maturity / ขนาด / น้ำหนัก / Age

Maturity: Lm 500.0, range 440 - 560 cm
Max length : 1,700 cm TL เพศผู้/กระเทย; (Ref. 48722); 2,000.0 cm TL (female); common length : 1,000 cm TL เพศผู้/กระเทย; (Ref. 12757); น้ำหนักสูงสุดที่มีการรายงาน: 34.0 t (Ref. 48722); อายุสูงสุดที่ได้รายงาน: 80 ปี (Ref. 116781)

Short description เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการแยกชนิดสัตว์,สิ่งมีชีวิตออกจากกัน | สัณฐานวิทยา | ความยาวต่างๆ

เงี่ยงครีบหลัง (รวม) : 0; เงี่ยงครีบก้น: 0. A huge, filter-feeding, blunt-headed shark with a distinct checkerboard pattern of yellow or white spots, on grey, bluish or blue-grey to green-brown back, white or yellowish underside, with horizontal and vertical stripes on back and sides of body; head broad and flat; snout short; mouth almost terminal, huge and transverse in front of eyes; prominent ridges on body, lowest terminating in a keel on caudal peduncle (Ref. 58085, 114967); nostrils with rudimentary barbels; long nasoral grooves; spiracles close to and larger than eyes; 5 exceptionally large gill openings, the fifth behind pectoral fin (Ref. 110893, 114967); numerous small, scale-like teeth and feeds by filtering plankton with special sieve-like modifications of the gill bars (Ref. 26938).

ชีววิทยา     ภาคผนวก (เช่น epibenthic)

World's largest fish, but is harmless to humans (Ref. 6871). Grows up to 20m (Ref. 48722). Often seen offshore but coming close inshore, sometimes entering lagoons or coral atolls (Ref. 247). Sometimes seen cruising near outer wall (Ref. 26938). Reported to frequent shallow water areas near estuaries and river mouths, sometimes during seasonal shrimp blooms (Ref. 48696). Found singly, or in aggregations of over 100 individuals (Ref. 5578). Often associated with groups of pelagic fishes, especially scombrids (Ref. 247). Highly migratory between ocean basins and national jurisdictions, but returns to the same sites annually (Ref. 48672). Feed on planktonic and nektonic prey, such as small fishes (sardines, anchovies, mackerel, juvenile tunas and albacore), small crustaceans and squids (Ref. 247). Often seen in a vertical position with the head at or near the surface when feeding (Ref. 13571). When actively feeding on zooplankton the sharks turn their heads from side to side, with part of the head lifted out of the water, and the mouth opened and closed 7-28 times per minute; these suction gulps were synchronized with the opening and closing of the gill slits (Ref. 35680). Ovoviviparous, with litter size of over 300 pups (Ref. 37816, 43278). Females of 438 to 562 cm are immature (FIGIS 09/2003). Utilized fresh, frozen, dried and salted for human consumption, liver processed for oil, fins used for shark-fin soup, offal probably for fishmeal (Ref. 13571), cartilage for health supplements and skin for leather products (Ref. 48723). Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166). Highly valued commodity in ecotourism operations. Populations have been depleted in several countries by harpoon fisheries (Ref. 48696). Estimated longevity of 80.4 yrs is much larger than reported maximum age 38 yrs based on vertebral bands for a female of 11.9 m TL. Maximum length of up to 21 m and weight of up to 42 tons have been reported (Ref. 116781), but probably the most reliably measured size so far is 12 m TL (Ref. 26319).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | การสืบพันธุ์ | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | ตัวอ่อน

Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 35465). Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Late term embryos shed their egg case within the uterus at a size of 58 to 64 cm TL (ovovivipary). The smallest free-living species are from 55-56 cm long, the smallest of which had an umbilical scar. A pregnant female has recently been found with 300 embryos, the largest of which were 58-64 cm (Refs. 26346, 35678).

Main reference Upload your references | อ้างอิง | ผู้ประสานงาน : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | ผู้ร่วมมือ

Colman, J.G., 1997. A review of the biology and ecology of the whale shark. J. Fish Biol. 51(6):1219-1234. (Ref. 26319)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Endangered (EN) (A2bd+4bd); Date assessed: 18 March 2016

CITES (Ref. 128078)


Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 6871)




Human uses

การประมง: การค้า
FAO(การประมง: species profile; publication : search) | FishSource | ทะเลรอบๆเรา

ข้อมูลเพิ่มเติม

Trophic ecology
รายการอาหาร
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
ผู้ล่า
Ecology
นิเวศวิทยา
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Anatomy
Gill areas
สมอง
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
รูปแบบการว่ายน้ำ
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
เสียงของปลา
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
พันธุศาสตร์
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
ประวัติการเพาะเลี้ยงสัตว์น้ำ
สายพันธุ์
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.

เครื่องมือ

Special reports

Download XML

แหล่งที่มาจากอินเตอร์เน็ต

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 19.6 - 29, mean 27.3 (based on 5510 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm Total Length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
ระดับชั้นอาหาร (Ref. 69278):  3.6   ±0.5 se; based on diet studies.
ความสามารถในการกลับคืนสู่ปกติ (Ref. 120179):  ต่ำมาก, เวลาต่ำสุดที่จะทำให้ประชากรเพิ่มขึ้นเป็น 2 เท่าใช้เวลามากกว่า 14 ปี (K=0.02; Fec=16-300).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (87 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.