Oh, who is the biggest fish under the sea? Rin-coden tie-fuss!
Getty Images – James D. Morgan / Contributor
It is pretty well undeniable that whale sharks are huge. With an average adult length of eight or nine meters (about 28 feet), it is larger than some of your favorite marine life forms. But for almost a decade, the race of races has remained the same: who is bigger, male or female?
According to a new study published in Frontiers in Marine Science on Wednesday, a decade-long analysis has confirmed that female sharks are the tallest fish in the ocean – averaging 14 minutes (about 46 feet), leaving males behind.
Mark Stirlion .Fist Science Not Marf Marine Science’s fish biologist and first author on paper, Mark Meek, has noted that some whales have reached 18 meters (59 feet).
“It’s fairly wide – about the size of a bandy bus on a city street.” “But even though they are big, they are growing very slowly. They are only 20 cm or 30 cm old.”
Due to the slow growth rate, the team discovered 54 individual whale sharks over a 10-year period, recording more than 1,000 measurements with stereo-video cameras.
It’s basically a Marine Science scientist and co-author of the study, Brit Taylor, who said, “Basically it puts two cameras on one frame that you push when you’re underwater.”
“It works the same way our eyes do – so you can calibrate two video recordings and get a very accurate measurement of a shark.” Said Taylor.
The team also explored the growing size of female whale sharks when it comes to reproduction. Only one pregnant whale shark has been documented, but unlike most sharks, which carry between two and 12, the whale shark is kept up to 300.
The search may also have implications for conservation efforts. Whale sharks have been listed as endangered species since 2016. Given their long growth rate, whale sharks have been targeted by fishermen, leading to a decline in animal populations.
“If you’re a very slow-moving animal and it takes you 30 years or more to mature, the chances of a disaster are much higher before you get a chance to breed,” Mike said.
“And that’s a real concern for whale sharks.”
