Megachasma pelagios, the pelagic large-mouthed shark, is one of three species whose diet consists of plankton. It was first discovered in 1976. This is the only species in the family of large. Shark is listed among the rarest fish in the world. Scientists managed to study only a third of live specimens from forty-seven discovered individuals of this species. It is assumed that their total number is no more than 100 individuals.
Legends and myths
There is no evidence that pelagic large-mouthed sharks were known in previous centuries. We can only assume that it was these individuals that became the basis of many legends about sea monsters, which are a mixture of whales and sharks.
Many coastal peoples have stories in which they narrate about the meetings of people with large sea monsters. One of the legends tells about a half-shark-half-whale with a huge mouth.
Discovery of the Pelagic Larger Shark
The first time Megachasma pelagios, a large-mouthed shark, was caught in Hawaii, near the island of Oaxy. This has been documented. The male shark was found in 1976, on the fifteenth of November. Its length was 4.46 meters. This rare specimen was caught by the crew of an American ship passing by. She tried to bite the cables in which she was entangled. The caught "monster" in the form of a scarecrow was sent to a museum in Honolulu.
Where did the name come from
In the name of this shark is the word "long-haired." With this name, people awarded the miracle fish for a giant mouth. And they called it “pelagic” because of its habitat. It is assumed that this species of sharks lives in the mesopilagil zone, at a depth of 150 to 500 m. But scientists are still not sure about this. It is believed that it can sink to great depths.
Habitat
Pelagic large-mouthed shark is found in all oceans, except the Arctic. Most of all, it comes across in the southern hemisphere. Most often, Megachasma pelagios can be found off the coast of California, Japan and Taiwan. Scientists believe that this unique fish is distributed around the world, but still prefers to live in warm latitudes. This is also confirmed by the fact that a large-mouthed shark was caught near Hawaii, South Australia, Africa and South America. She is often seen off the coast of Ecuador.
After the story with the first individual, the second one was caught only eight years later, near the island of Santa Catalina, in 1984. A stuffed shark was sent to the Los Angeles Museum. After this, large fish were seen more often. From 1988-1990 they were met off the coast of Western Australia, Japan and California. In 1995 - on the coast of Senegal and Brazil.
Description
The large-mouthed shark, the photo of which is in this article, belongs, like everyone else, to the class of cartilaginous. The skeleton is soft cartilage. Fabrics contain a lot of water. Therefore, the large-mouthed shark is very slow (speed is about two kilometers per hour). She cannot develop great speed physically. Its weight reaches one and a half tons, which makes it clumsy and slow.
The body is flabby and soft, characteristic of deep-sea ones. But such a structure does not allow her to sink. The teeth are arranged in twenty-three rows. Each contains almost 300 small cloves. The mouth around the edge is surrounded by a photophore, which serves to lure plankton and small fish. Thanks to the phosphorescent lips, the shark is considered the largest luminous fish.
Its growth reaches a meter in width, and the body length is over five. The coloring of this shark resembles a little killer whale. Therefore, sometimes it is mistaken for a young whale. The body of the long-eared shark is dark. Above is black and brown, and the belly is white. It differs from other species in a giant dark gray (or brown) mouth. Her nose is dull. This amazing fish is a big, good-natured giant and is absolutely safe for people, although its appearance is very frightening and can easily scare an ignorant person.
Nutrition
Forty years ago a new species of fish was found. - large shark. What does this giant eat? Previously, only two species of sharks that feed on plankton were known. Largemouth became the third on this list. Small microorganisms were found in the stomachs of deceased individuals.
The main diet of the Larger shark is plankton, consisting of jellyfish, crustaceans, etc. Most of all, this giant fish loves the reddish crustaceans of euphausiids (otherwise - krill, or black-eyed). They live at great depths, so the shark periodically falls behind them at 150 meters.
A large-mouthed shark eats like whales, according to the same principle. Only they pass plankton through the mouth passively. A large-mouthed shark deliberately filters water and swallows every four minutes.
Having noticed a flock of favorite crustaceans, he opens a huge mouth and sucks water into it, pressing his tongue to the palate. On it there are "stamens", otherwise - outgrowths. They are located very often, the length is up to fifteen centimeters. Then the shark squeezes the water back through the cramped gills. Fine krill remain on outgrowths. The crustaceans can slip out. If you are lucky, only through small numerous teeth with a large-shark shark. After filtering the water, she swallows everything that remains in her mouth.
Behavior
The pelagic large-mouthed shark spends nights at a depth of no more than 15 meters. And in the afternoon it falls much lower - up to 150 m. Scientists suggest that such striking movements occur due to hunting for krill, which likewise changes its location depending on the time of day.
Breeding
So far, there is very little information about the reproduction of giant fish . There is speculation that the large-mouthed shark mates exclusively in the fall. Scientists suggest that this action occurs mainly in the warm waters of Hawaii and California, since it is there that the most adult mature males are found. This species of shark, like many others, is ovoviviparous. Fertilization, maturation and hatching of eggs occurs in the womb of the female.
Enemies of the Larger Shark
A large-mouthed shark, the photo of which can be seen in this article, has in the ocean because of its slowness of enemies. The first is stone perches. These fish, taking advantage of the sluggishness of the bold, tear out pieces of meat from the soft body. Often gnaw a shark to the holes. The second enemy is the sperm whale. He swallows a large-mouthed shark entirely with his huge jaws. Then easily digests in his voracious womb.
Interesting Facts
Scientists are of the opinion that the previously large-breasted were near-bottom, so they remained unnoticed by people. But for some reason, these fish rose into the middle water column. Perhaps the reason is climate change on the planet.
The World Marine Animals Conservation Fund has included large-shark sharks in the list of rare species and has taken them under its protection. But, nevertheless, it is known that recently one such shark was eaten by fishermen in the Philippines, and no administrative measures were taken.