Whale shark: Difference between revisions

Growth, longevity, and reproduction of the whale shark are poorly understood.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name="ong">{{cite journal|last1=Ong|first1=Joyce J. L.|last2=Meekan|first2=Mark G.|last3=Hsu|first3=Hua Hsun|last4=Fanning|first4=L. Paul|last5=Campana|first5=Steven E.|date=6 April 2020|title=Annual Bands in Vertebrae Validated by Bomb Radiocarbon Assays Provide Estimates of Age and Growth of Whale Sharks|journal=Frontiers in Marine Science|volume=7|doi=10.3389/fmars.2020.00188|doi-access=free|hdl=20.500.11815/2381|hdl-access=free}}</ref> There

[[Age wasdetermination uncertaintyin as to whether vertebraefish|Vertebral growth bands]] arehave formedbeen annuallyused or biannually, which is important into determiningestimate the age, growth, and longevity of whale sharks. However, there was uncertainty as to whether vertebrae growth bands are formed annually or biannually.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Wintner|first=Sabine P.|s2cid=20461057|date=2000|title=Preliminary Study of Vertebral Growth Rings in the Whale Shark, Rhincodon typus, from the East Coast of South Africa|journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes|volume=59|issue=4|pages=441–451|doi=10.1023/A:1026564707027|bibcode=2000EnvBF..59..441W }}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> A 2020 study compared the ratio of [[Carbon-14]] isotopes found in growth bands of whale shark vertebrae to [[Nuclear weapons testing|nuclear testing]] events in the 1950–60s, finding that growth bands are laid down annually. The study found an age of 50 years for a {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}} female and 35 years for a {{convert|9.9m9|m|ft|abbr=on}} male.<ref name="ong" /> Various studies looking at vertebrae growth bands and measuring whale sharks in the wild have estimated their lifespans from ~80 years and up to ~130 years.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="fishbase" /><ref name=":5" />