Page 587 - The Dutch Caribbean Isles

hite Tip Lagoon Shark - Adult size: 5.57 to 6.6 feet. This shark whale sharks exist. Whale sharks can grow to the size of a bus. The

W can be distinguished by its white trimmed dorsal and caudal whale shark holds many records for sheer size in the animal king-
fins. It is a shark that can be observed in schools, during the day dom, most notably being by far the largest living non-mammalian

usually resting on the bottom, in caves or on rocky overhangs. vertebrate, rivalling many of the largest dinosaurs in weight. The

The white tip lagoon shark is found in coastal habitats, territory species originated about 60 million years ago. The whale shark is

it shares with the black tips and lemon sharks. It becomes active found in tropical and warm oceans and lives in the open sea, with

mainly at night feeding on fish that it ferrets out of holes and a lifespan of about 70 years. Whale sharks have very large mouths,

crevices. and as filter feeders, they feed mainly on plankton. Whale shark

W hale Shark - The whale shark is a slow-moving filter feed- time their arrival to coincide with the mass spawning of fish shoals
ing shark and the largest known fish. The largest confirmed and feeding on the resultant clouds of eggs and sperm. The name
“whale shark” comes from the fish’s size, being as large as some

individual had a length of 12.65 meters and a weight of more species of whale and also a filter feeder like baleen whales.

than 21.5 metric tons. Unconfirmed reports of considerably larger