The BIGGEST fish in the whole world..

Did you know what's the biggest fish in the world? Have you seen it? or even dreamed of diving with these giant creature in the sea? Let's talk about it..

The world's biggest fish is the Whale shark(Rhincodon typus)

They are huge and streamlined, and have a beautiful coloration pattern on their back and sides that is made up of light spots and stripes over a dark gray, blue or brown background.

Its mouth is at the very front of its head (not on the underside of the head like in most sharks). It has a wide, flat head, a rounded snout, small eyes, 5 very large gill slits, 2 dorsal fins (on its back) and 2 pectoral fins (on its sides). The spiracle (a vestigial first gill slit used for breathing when the shark is resting on the sea floor) is located just behind the shark's eye. Its tail has a top fin much larger than the lower fin.Whale sharks have about 300 rows of tiny teeth, totaling about 27,000 teeth, but they are not thought to play a role in feeding.

Whale sharks are ovoviviparous.The eggs remain in the body and the females give birth to live young which are 40 to 60 centimetres (16 to 24 in) long. It is believed that they reach sexual maturity at around 30 years and the life span is an estimated 70 to 100 years.

On March 7, 2009, marine scientists in the Philippines discovered what is believed to be the smallest living specimen of the whale shark. Measuring 15 inches (380 mm) in length, about the length of a man's forearm, the young shark was found with its tail tied to a stake at a beach in Pilar, Philippines, and was released into the wild.

The whale shark is a widespread animal, and occurs in warmer temperate and tropical waters. It is found in the pelagic zone in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
They feed by filtering small organisms, such as plankton, crustaceans, tiny fish, and occasionally larger fish and squid. Unlike the basking shark, which moves water through its mouth by slowly swimming forward, the whale shark feeds by opening its mouth and sucking in water, which then passes through the gills. Along the way, organisms get trapped in the shark's dermal denticles (small, tooth-like structures) and the pharynx, which is a rake-like structure. A whale shark can filter over 1,500 gallons of water.

(http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/species/Whaleshark.shtml)

I can't just imagine how big and great the whale shark is. Have you tried meeting underwater the biggest fish? What would you do if it's diving with you?

-You should not be panic because these species, despite its size, does not pose significant danger to humans.Whale sharks serve as an example when educating the public about the popular misconceptions of sharks as "man-eaters". They are actually quite gentle and can play with divers. Divers and snorkelers can swim with this giant fish without risk apart from unintentional blows from the shark's large tail fin.

-dheshiela-