Naked Science Forum
On the Lighter Side => That CAN'T be true! => Topic started by: mad maXX on 09/02/2005 08:38:07
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i dont know but i think it was a 7m great white shark
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Whale sharks grow much bigger than great whites. They've been measured at over 12m, but I'm sure that there are bigger ones around. Also, great whites can grow bigger than 7m.
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Thats one big killing machine![}:)]
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i think there is a shark called 'big mouth' which is a gigantic basking shark, and they can grow over thirty feet! the only fish which is bigger than it is the whale shark[:)]
but they only eat plankton anyways[;)]
thank god[:p]
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Aren't whale sharks actually mammals, called "killer whale sharks" in my area. They look like a cross between a whale and a shark.
You're correct about the largest shark being the basking shark, a huge drifting plankton eater. The largest shark otherwise is either the great white or the bull shark.
Just for interest, there is a rare shark that lives in cold water only, the Greenland Shark. It was recently photographed in Quebec's St. Lawrence River by divers who hacked through the ice and dove down looking for the elusive critter.
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I think you're getting confused with the killer whale or orca, which is a mammal. The whale shark is also a basking shark that lives off plankton and krill and is a fish.
Never heard of a greenland shark, though.
The tail gives a clue to the animals' origin. The mammals have a tail that sits vertically in the water, and generates propulsion by moving the tail up and down. The fish tail lies horizontally in the water and is moved from side to side to give propulsion.
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The whale shark is deffinetly the largest shark. They only eat plankton too.
Did you know that some sharks never sleep of rest and have to always swim otherwise they die because they don't have muscles in their gills and need the force from them swimming to help them breath! wow that is cool!
mmm hi!
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They also don't have swim bladders, so they are denser than water and will sink if they stop swimming
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I knew they would sink if they stopped swimming but didnt know coz of that
mmm hi!
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The Whale Shark is definitely a fish & is the largest fish, at that. It can grow to in excess of 50 feet. The 2nd largest shark is the Basking Shark which can grow to 35 feet. Both are completely harmless as they feed on plankton.
The Megamouth Shark is a totally different beastie & although it can get quite large it's nowhere near the size of a Basking or Whale Shark
It wasn't me - a big boy did it & ran away
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The Whale Shark may grow up to a length of 18m(59ft) and weigh up to 40 tonnes. The Basking Shark may grow up to length of 10m(33ft) and weigh up to 6 tonnes. The megamouth may grow up to a length of 4m(13ft).
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Roberth - I think you got your vertical & horizontal the wrong way round. Sea-mammal tails are horizontal and move vertically, fish tails are vertical and move horizontally
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The biggest flesh eating shark ever was megalodon which had jaws over 2m wide and grew to over 16m in lenth but you would have to go back 1.6 million years to meet one
Michael (https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi11.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fa186%2Fukmicky%2Frofl.gif&hash=481319b762ee9d57cda15e90d2e83ee6)