Whale Sharks Thrive in Australian Waters Diver Brad Norman
helped to draft the guidelines for photographing whale sharks.
Divers who take their own shots can log them on
www.whaleshark.org. CREDIT: Brad Norman Whale sharks, which grow
to weigh as much as two or three adult elephants, are thriving
in waters off Western Australia, a new study of underwater
images suggests. Up to 65 feet long (20 meters), the whale
shark, Rhincodon typus, is the world's largest living fish
species — and also the largest shark. Though hefty, this shark
is known as the "gentle giant" for its non-predatory behavior.
Rather than tearing through meaty flesh of prey like many
sharks, this fish, with its broad, flattened head and tiny teeth
inside a giant mouth, eats tiny zooplankton, sieving them
through a fine mesh of gill-rakers. Relatively little is known
about the health and migratory behaviors of whale sharks, which
live in tropical and warm seas, including the western Atlantic
and southern Pacific. The new research combines comp