Page 256 - French Polynesia
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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
whale shark holds many records for sheer size in the animal king-
W can be distinguished by its white trimmed dorsal and caudal dom, most notably being by far the largest living non-mammalian
vertebrate, rivalling many of the largest dinosaurs in weight. The
fins. It is a shark that can be observed in schools, during the day species originated about 60 million years ago. The whale shark is
usually resting on the bottom, in caves or on rocky overhangs. found in tropical and warm oceans and lives in the open sea, with
The white tip lagoon shark is found in coastal habitats, territory a lifespan of about 70 years. Whale sharks have very large mouths,
it shares with the black tips and lemon sharks. It becomes active and as filter feeders, they feed mainly on plankton. Whale shark
mainly at night feeding on fish that it ferrets out of holes and time their arrival to coincide with the mass spawning of fish shoals
crevices. 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
W hale Shark - The whale shark is a slow-moving filter feed- species of whale and also a filter feeder like baleen whales.
ing shark and the largest known fish. The largest confirmed
individual had a length of 12.65 meters and a weight of more
than 21.5 metric tons. Unconfirmed reports of considerably larger
