The Basking Shark Of Barcelona (Cetorhinus Maximus)
This month’s article series, will discuss the oceanic areas surrounding the Spanish city of Barcelona. We went on an expedition to Barcelona in order to do some seagrass related research & things of that nature. Results from this will be published in a new journal of ours called “The Persaud Catalogue: Scientific Journal of Marine Biology”. It will be located on this same website & will just be published in a different area of the website. For more information please look at the article titled “Major Announcement: The Persaud Catalogue: Scientific Journal Of Marine Biology”, published on March 17th. Barcelona is a city in Spain, located on the Mediterranean Sea. It is attached to mainland Spain & it is not apart of an island. The city is known largely for its superb beaches, beautiful artworks, & architectural features. However, Barcelona offer much more then just an exciting city, it has absolutely wonderful areas to snorkel in. Barcelona has a vast selection of marine life, this is largely due to the favourable weather conditions of the areas surrounding Barcelona. It is also extremely active marine wise, with many species being brightly coloured & high in population. For example, whale sightings are very common off the coast of Barcelona from March to October. However, there is one animal in particular that stands out compared to all else, this creature is known as the Basking Shark. The Basking shark is a species of shark found throughout the Atlantic, that can open its mouth up to a meter in diameter. It is a filter feeder which is the reason for this otherwise strange feature. What that means, is that the Basking Shark does not hunt as most other sharks do, in fact they don’t even eat fish. Basking sharks consume microscopic organisms & krill by opening their large mouths & using a suction power to pull the creatures in. Once finished, the shark will close its mouth & swallow all food. It does not have the ability swallow anything other then these organisms so there is no need to fear it. In this article, we will discuss the life of the Basking Shark, The mating practices, tactics, cycles, habits, & processes of the Basking Shark, the distribution of the Basking Shark, & finally, the scientific detailings of the Basking Shark. With that being said, let us delve into the widest-mouthed shark.
The Life Of The Basking Shark
The basking shark was first described in 1765 by a certain Gunnerus. It was caught in Norway & brung from Norway to Gunnerus as a specimen. They are 7.9 meters (25.9186 feet) long on average & weigh approximately 4.65 tons each. Basking sharks can live for up to 50 years, this does not change based on gender from current knowledge. The intelligence of a basking shark is somewhat understudied & little is known about their mental capacity. They seem to be friendly towards humans & not have any malicious intentions. They seem to have the same capacity of most other shark species. It is unknown how long this species itself has existed for however, the earliest fossil records of something shark-like, was from 450 million years ago during the ordovician period. Using this information, it is safe to assume that it evolved sometime after the ordovician period. They are not known to approach humans at all. They are also not aggressive towards humans whatsoever at all. This species of shark is not territorial from what it looks like as they are highly migratory & will not stay in one place. Basking sharks are extremely social creatures & are usually not seen or found alone. They will be found basking in small groups of 2-3 however they have been known to form a large group of 500 sharks. They are highly migratory creatures & often will not be very territorial. They do not sleep as we think of it, they instead have active & resting periods. During the active periods they will be active & swim about engulfing krill. During their resting periods they will not swim & be restful, they will still be awake & conscious. Being restful means they will swim to the bottom of the oceanic floor not move. It is unknown how long they have restful periods for. They can swim at speeds of 2.5 to 4 miles per hour. It has been discussed how they eat, & what they eat, however it has not been discussed how much they eat. It is unclear as to how much exactly they eat, however it is estimated at 1,000,000 individual plankton. This may way several hundred pounds. They are not cannibalistic in ant capacity whatsoever. They do not have a very high metabolism. They do not have a specific feeding time either, they will consume whenever they feel they need the sustenance. The Basking Shark has no known predators that will actively hunt them. White sharks are known to consume basking sharks remains, how it is unknown if they will actively hunt them. It is extremely unlikely that they do actively hunt them. The basking shark is a light grey colour & round. They have a long dorsal fin placed in the center of their body so this is a good identifier. They have a round & short snout as well as an extremely large mouth. Their gills present themselves as large slits on the sides of the sharks body near their snout. They are currently classified as endangered with their population decreasing. They also have, no known cultural significance to any particular population. However, they did cause a general scare during various time periods, this can be seen in that many stories of sea serpents & various other oceanic monsters, can be attributed to this creature.
The Mating Practices, Tactics, Cycles, Processes, & Habits Of The Basking Shark
Basking sharks will reproduce via sexual reproduction. They are not hermaphroditic in any capacity whatsoever. The females' eggs are fertilized via internal fertilization from the male. They are not monogamous creatures. The actual mating ritual that they perform is completely unknown & has not been observed. It is unclear as to what age they sexually mature at, however, it is estimated at 18. This number is unconfirmed though. This number would go for both genders. They do not appear to have a specific mating season. This species has been confirmed to lay eggs. It will take approximately 2-3 years for an egg to hatch as this is the normal gestation period. This species is ovoviviparous meaning that the mother shall hold the eggs in her womb until they are ready to hatch. The embryos will develop inside of the egg’s individually then will come out. This is a common trait among amphibious species. The eggs will develop in the mother's womb for 2-3 years then she will lay them. Soon after they will hatch & it is unclear whether the female will take part in her pups life after this. It is unknown exactly how many babies will be laid during this process. The pups are then born in the summer, as being born in this time of year gives the highest chance of survival. After this, the female will mate every 18 months to 3 years after pregnancies. It is currently unknown at what time they are the most fertile.
The Distribution Of The Basking Shark
The Basking shark is not exclusive to Barcelona, it is found across the Pacific & the Atlantic. From areas such as New Zealand, to Canada, to the Sea Of Japan, to the Mediterranean. They are found as deep as 2,000 meters (6561.68 feet). They are highly migratory & will travel often in their lives. This is necessary as if they stop swimming they will asphyxiate & die. They do have seasonal migration patterns however we have yet to map them completely. They will migrate to southern oceans during the winter months, this is the only known thing about their seasonal migration pattern.
The Scientific Detailings Of The Basking Shark
The most interesting part of the basking shark, is undoubtedly its large mouth cavity. It is able to do this as it has many bones in its mouth that allow the mouth to expand. The shark has extremely small teeth, that are all curved backwards. They have 6 rows of teeth on their upper jaw & 9 rows of teeth on their lower jaw. They seem to have 100 teeth in each row of teeth. They have 1,500 teeth in total by the time they reach maturity. These teeth are each 1 quarter of an inch long. These teeth are in the shape of a conical cusp, & each tooth looks almost identical to each other. They also have rather strange looking skeletons due to their mouth bones, as well as due to the fact that their skull is incredibly small compared to their body. Very little is known about their brain function & their intelligence. They do not have any specialized organs besides gills. Their gill slits are incredibly large. They do also possess something known as gill rakers which exist in the snout. These help with filter feeding. Their liver is humongous & accounts for approximately 25% of their total body weight. However this does end up helping with the buoyancy of the shark, as the liver is high in squalene, a low-density hydrocarbon that helps give the shark neutral buoyancy. Their phylum is known as Chordata meaning that they developed these 5 characteristics all species under the phylum of chordata develop 5 similar characteristics either In adulthood or as juveniles. Over 60,000 species are categorized under Chordata at the time of publishing. The characteristics that they develop include, a notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal Slits, & a post-anal tail. Their class is Chondrichthyes. This is a class of fish that are primarily composed of cartilage. This class can be compared to the class Osteichthyes, which is a class of fish who are primarily composed of bone. A few universal characteristics for any fish in the class Chondrichthyes is that they all are jawed vertebrates, they have paired fins, paired nares, scales, & a heart with chambers in a series. The Basking Shark is one of the biggest species in this class. Their sub-class is that of Elasmobranchii. Their order is that of Lamniformes. This is an order of sharks. A few universal characteristics for creatures classified within this order are that, they possess two dorsal fins, an anal fin, five gill slits, eyes without nictitating, & a mouth cavity that extends behind the eyes. Creatures from this order also usually maintain a higher body temperature then the water surrounding them. This order has the largest macropredatory shark to ever exist, the Otodus Megalodon. Their family is Cetorhinidae. This is a family of filter feeding sharks, which are commonly known as basking sharks. This family contains 3 genera, 2 of which are completely extinct. The Basking Shark, is the only discovered species that is in this family. Their genus is Cetorhinus. The Basking Shark is the only known species in this genus. Their binomial name is Cetorhinus.
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