Isn't it the strongest to have such a big and long life?
The whale shark is the largest species of fish. It weighs up to 19 tons and can reach up to 18 meters in length. And a recent study found that life expectancy is 130 years.
Mysterious whale shark, it was difficult to guess its age
Studying how whale sharks grow seems to be quite a challenge, and even how many there are in the world remains a mystery. A whale shark that is. Until now, it seems that investigations have been conducted by examining the bones of corpses. A team of scientists now in Maldives has set out to explore whale sharks, filling in the gaps in scientific knowledge.
"It's generally hard to guess the age of a shark," said Mahmood Shivji, a professor at Nova Southeastern University. Until now, we have guessed the age based on the vertebral rings of the specimen, but it was unknown whether the vertebral rings really represent the shark's age.
Fuzzy Whale Shark Lifespan Revealed
First, to measure the size of whale sharks, a team of scientists traveled to an area where whale sharks have been a frequent congregation for several years. A member of the team, Cameron Perry, a graduate student at Nova Southeastern University, has been diving with whale sharks and Maldives many times. With a tape measure, a laser measure, and a camera, it's time to investigate the size. The team selected 44 whale sharks to track. These are young whale sharks, about 10 years old. New and returning sharks can be distinguished by their stalks.
We then put the length data into a mathematical model and compare it with past research to estimate how old a given size would be. They found that male whale sharks reach full maturity at age 25 and live to be 130 years old. Of course, it was already known that whale sharks lived long lives, but the speculation range was ambiguous, ranging from 79 to 174 years.
Implications for knowing the lifespan of whale sharks
Although you said there were too few studies to speculate on how long females might live, the longevity of such a large animal was determined by nature. important to the conservation movement. "Knowing lifespan and growth parameters will also help us estimate how long it will take to recover populations from whale shark overexploitation, and we will be able to plan more effectively," the scientist said. If we know how long they live, we can estimate how many whale sharks there are.
That said, the life expectancy of 130 years is an estimate. We haven't spotted a 130-year-old shark directly, but this is the best guess we can make right now. The technology could also be used to determine the age of other shark species while they were still alive, the team of scientists said. "You don't have to kill and catch them anymore, or research what you catch in a fishery," he said. It will be important for the future of nature to develop technology that will allow us to study many living animals without making specimens like this.
Image: Guy Harvey Ocean FoundationSource: Marine and Freshwater Research
Ryan F. Mandelbaum - Gizmodo US [original] (Ryoko Iwata)
