I'm going to Honduras this summer and diving on the reefs, and found out that there is a good possiblity of seeing a Whale Shark while I'm diving...so I wanted to find out a little bit more about them!
The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world! It can grow up to 65ft long and can weigh over 10 tonnes! However, it doesn't use its teeth to eat, it swallows tonnes of plankton, just like some other whales. Its mouth however can be up to 4 feet wide...thats almost as big as I am tall...wow
"If you were accidentally scooped up by the whale shark you would find yourself being spit back out through an interesting process called gastric eversion. The whale shark actually turns its stomach inside out and spits it out through its mouth, ejecting the entire contents." GOOD TO KNOW...not that i'm planning on getting swallowed by one, but you never know.
Ok...so is it a WHALE or a SHARK??
"Scientists have determined that it is a species of shark, because of its skeleton (composed entirely of cartilage), and its tough, leathery, scaleless skin. People called it a whale shark because of its enormous size (like a whale), not because it's a type of whale."
Check out this website with info on it and a cool video too.
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