A mouthful of teeth and a constantly-hungry stomach is the best description to fit the whale shark. Though the description might be fitting yet it has nothing to do with the real truth. In reality, in terms of diet, the whale sharks are very different from other sharks.
In general, the whale sharks are deemed as filter-feeders. Mostly, they feed on plankton, red crab larvae, macro-algae, krill, small nektonic vertebrates, squids and even small fishes. Whale sharks possess unique oral anatomy which permits it to gulp in water, filter for food and expuse the water using its gills.
Know that the whale sharks do not have big sharp teeth as what other shark species have. The fact is that, the size of their teeth is relatively smaller considering the fact that their teeth provide no real use regarding feeding. This means that, whale sharks usually do not munch their food. What these whale sharks have being filter-feeders is a unique raking mechanism attached within their gills which serves as a filter of their food from the water they gulp in. Their characteristic as filter-feeders makes their diet odd, interesting yet logical.
Filter-feeding
In lieu of preying on fishes, a whale shark sucks in mouthfuls of water abundant with macro-algae, tiny fishes and plankton. And then, it closes its mouth to catch the water inside of the body, which happens to be funneled through the gill flaps, where water is removed. Almost all of the food particles are stuck against the dermal denticles lining the whale shark's pharynx and also gill plates. They use their fine sieve-like contraptions to sifter plankton. The diameter of these filters are only 2-3 millimeters, prevent anything besides water and also smaller food particles from getting out of.
Just about any organic material which is stuck between the gill filters is swallowed in soon after. For a human point of view, the theory of filter-feeding would seem really quite troublesome. You can definitely find it difficult to fully grasp making use of your mouth like a sponge filter and also swallowing the dirt that amasses in the filter. Even if whale sharks are extremely well experienced in regards to filter-feeding, yet the difficulty regarding it is not really lost for them. More often than not, these whale sharks are reported coughing because they are unable to swallow all the food particles trapped in their gill filters. At some point, the food particles there collect and additionally clog up the filters, making it tough to eat with no need of coughing and, quite possibly, choking.
Did you know that the whale sharks ar active feeders?. In contrast to some other shark species, or fishes for instance, whale sharks hardly ever give up eating. Due to the fact that filter-feeding also doesn't need them to run after for food, whale sharks can easily drink in water even if they're resting in stationary position.
Some Other Filter-feeder Sharks
Amongst all other shark species, the megamouth shark as well as the basking shark are the filter-feeders. The basking shark doesn't filter-feed the way whale sharks do. In lieu of gulping along with expelling water by using their gills, basking sharks just "basks," as a result forcing the water to flow by using their gills. The food particles are then simply amassed plus swallowed.
The fact is, whale sharks are totally different from what you primary assumed them to be. Their teeth has no use simply because they are filter-feeders and do not have big sharp teeth.
In general, the whale sharks are deemed as filter-feeders. Mostly, they feed on plankton, red crab larvae, macro-algae, krill, small nektonic vertebrates, squids and even small fishes. Whale sharks possess unique oral anatomy which permits it to gulp in water, filter for food and expuse the water using its gills.
Know that the whale sharks do not have big sharp teeth as what other shark species have. The fact is that, the size of their teeth is relatively smaller considering the fact that their teeth provide no real use regarding feeding. This means that, whale sharks usually do not munch their food. What these whale sharks have being filter-feeders is a unique raking mechanism attached within their gills which serves as a filter of their food from the water they gulp in. Their characteristic as filter-feeders makes their diet odd, interesting yet logical.
Filter-feeding
In lieu of preying on fishes, a whale shark sucks in mouthfuls of water abundant with macro-algae, tiny fishes and plankton. And then, it closes its mouth to catch the water inside of the body, which happens to be funneled through the gill flaps, where water is removed. Almost all of the food particles are stuck against the dermal denticles lining the whale shark's pharynx and also gill plates. They use their fine sieve-like contraptions to sifter plankton. The diameter of these filters are only 2-3 millimeters, prevent anything besides water and also smaller food particles from getting out of.
Just about any organic material which is stuck between the gill filters is swallowed in soon after. For a human point of view, the theory of filter-feeding would seem really quite troublesome. You can definitely find it difficult to fully grasp making use of your mouth like a sponge filter and also swallowing the dirt that amasses in the filter. Even if whale sharks are extremely well experienced in regards to filter-feeding, yet the difficulty regarding it is not really lost for them. More often than not, these whale sharks are reported coughing because they are unable to swallow all the food particles trapped in their gill filters. At some point, the food particles there collect and additionally clog up the filters, making it tough to eat with no need of coughing and, quite possibly, choking.
Did you know that the whale sharks ar active feeders?. In contrast to some other shark species, or fishes for instance, whale sharks hardly ever give up eating. Due to the fact that filter-feeding also doesn't need them to run after for food, whale sharks can easily drink in water even if they're resting in stationary position.
Some Other Filter-feeder Sharks
Amongst all other shark species, the megamouth shark as well as the basking shark are the filter-feeders. The basking shark doesn't filter-feed the way whale sharks do. In lieu of gulping along with expelling water by using their gills, basking sharks just "basks," as a result forcing the water to flow by using their gills. The food particles are then simply amassed plus swallowed.
The fact is, whale sharks are totally different from what you primary assumed them to be. Their teeth has no use simply because they are filter-feeders and do not have big sharp teeth.
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See this video for an idea of the size of these creatures: Whale Shark Size. More info on Whale Sharks here: Diving with Whale Sharks from Cancun.
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