Sharks

Whale Sharks

Whale sharks get their name from the way they look. They look like some species of whales.
Whale sharks live in tropical and warm oceans. They live in the open sea, but not very deap in the ocean. They are migratory creatures, so they move around a lot. They have a lifespan of 70 years.
Whale sharks have large mouths and are filter feeders. Their mouth can be 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) wide. It contains 300-350 rows of tiny teeth and 10 filter pads. You may ask, What do they eat if they have tiny teeth? Well, they eat macaroalgea, plankton, krill, crab, small nektonic life, such as small squid, and they can also eat small fish.
As mentioned before whale sharks have very large mouths. They have five pairs of gills. Their head is wide and flat with two eyes in the front. They have a pattern of pale yellow spots and stripes. Their skin can be 10 cm thick. They have a pair of dorsal fins and pactoral fins. Their spiracles are behind their eyes (spiracles supply oxygen directly to the eyes and brain of the shark, their like another pair of gills). The average size of adult whale sharks is about 9.7m (31.82 ft) and 20,000 lb.
You may also be thinking how do they behave with people. Whale sharks are not a danger to humans. This may seem strange because of their size. They sometimes even allow swimmers to catch a ride.
These species are know as gentle giants.