how long is a whale shark in meters
12.65 m estimated at 9.7 m 9.7 m
title: Gummy shark text: crustaceans, marine worms, small fish and cephalopods such as octopus, squid, cuttlefish, etc. Compared to the world’s largest fish, the whale shark, more formally known as the Rhincodon typus, which reaches maximum lengths of up to 12 meters long, the gummy shark can reach a maximum length of 157 cm for males and 175 cm for female. That makes this species of shark about 14 percent of the size of the whale shark. The minimum size for both male and female is 45 cm measured from the rear-most gill slit to the base of the tail fin. At birth, these title: Whale shark text: Wetland Park) in South Africa, the Galapagos Islands, Saint Helena, Isla Mujeres (Caribbean Sea), La Paz, Baja California Sur and Bahía de los Ángeles in Mexico, the Seychelles, West Malaysia, islands off eastern peninsular Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Oman, Fujairah, Puerto Rico, and other parts of the Caribbean. Juveniles can be found near the shore in the Gulf of Tadjoura, near Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa. There is currently no robust estimate of the global whale shark population. The species is considered endangered by the IUCN due to the impacts of fisheries, bycatch losses, and vessel strikes, combined with title: Whale shark text: whale sharks is estimated at and . Several specimens over in length have been reported. The largest verified specimen was caught on 11 November 1949, near Baba Island, in Karachi, Pakistan. It was long, weighed about , and had a girth of . Stories exist of vastly larger specimens – quoted lengths of and are common in the popular literature, but no scientific records support their existence. In 1868, the Irish natural scientist Edward Perceval Wright obtained several small whale shark specimens in the Seychelles, but claimed to have observed specimens in excess of , and tells of shark specimens title: Whale shark text: waters of the tropical oceans and is rarely found in the water below . 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 specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. Andrew Smith, a military doctor associated with British troops stationed in title: Whale shark text: the South Atlantic Ocean; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, Gladden Spit in Belize; Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia; Kerala,Lakshadweep, Gulf of Kutch and Saurashtra coast of Gujarat in India; Útila in Honduras; Southern Leyte; Donsol, Pasacao and Batangas in the Philippines; off Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox in Yucatan and Bahía de los Ángeles in Baja California, México; Maamigili island, Maldives; Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia; Cenderawasih Bay National Park in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia; Flores Island, Indonesia; Nosy Be in Madagascar; off Tofo Beach near Inhambane in Mozambique; the Tanzanian islands of Mafia, Pemba, Zanzibar; Gulf of Tadjoura in