About the Book
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 27. Chapters: Brachaeluridae, Ginglymostomatidae, Hemiscylliidae, Orectolobidae, Parascylliidae, Rhincodontidae, Stegostomatidae, Whale shark, Zebra shark, Epaulette shark, Tawny nurse shark, Blind shark, Carpet shark, Arabian carpetshark, Bluegrey carpetshark, Wobbegong, Whitespotted bamboo shark, Brownbanded bamboo shark, Orectolobus, Grey bamboo shark, Indonesian speckled carpetshark, Orectolobus halei, Slender bamboo shark, Burmese bamboo shark, Hasselt's bamboo shark, Orectolobus hutchinsi, Ornate wobbegong, Nebrius, Northern wobbegong, Spotted wobbegong, Short-tail nurse shark, Papuan epaulette shark, Saddle carpetshark, Cobbler wobbegong, Japanese wobbegong, Hooded carpetshark, Barbelthroat carpetshark, Rusty carpetshark, Necklace carpetshark, Taiwan saddled carpetshark, Collared carpetshark, Tasselled wobbegong, Orectolobus reticulatus, Dwarf spotted wobbegong, Ginger carpetshark, Bluespotted bamboo shark, Floral banded wobbegong, Parascyllium. Excerpt: The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest living fish species. The largest confirmed individual was 12.65 metres (41.50 ft) in length. The heaviest weighed more than 36 tonnes (79,000 lb), but unconfirmed claims report considerably larger whale sharks. This distinctively-marked fish is the only member of its genus Rhincodon and its family, Rhincodontidae (called Rhinodontes before 1984), which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. The shark is found in tropical and warm oceans, lives in the open sea with a lifespan of about 70 years. The species originated about 60 million years ago. Although whale sharks have very large mouths, they feed mainly, though not exclusively, on plankton, microscopic plants and animals, although the BBC program Planet Earth filmed a whale shark feeding on a school of small ...
