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AnAge entry for Rhincodon typus

Classification (HAGRID: 02189)
TaxonomyKingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Chondrichthyes (Taxon entry)
            Order: Orectolobiformes
                Family: Rhincodontidae
                    Genus: Rhincodon
SpeciesRhincodon typus
Common nameWhale shark
SynonymsRhiniodon typus

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

Maximum longevity54 years (wild)
Sourceref. 822
Sample sizemedium
Data qualityacceptable
Observations

Not much is known about the life history of these animals, the world's largest fish. One study estimated annual survival at 0.825. Age at maturity probably occurs at 13 to 25 years. Maximum longevity is unknown with estimates ranging from 54 years to over 100 years [0782].

Life history traits (averages)

Female sexual maturity6,935 days
Male sexual maturity6,935 days
Litter size300 (viviparous)
Interbirth interval730 days
Adult weight18,700,000 g

Metabolism

No information on metabolism available.

References
[0822] Garcia et al. (2008), The importance of habitat and life history to extinction risk in sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras, PubMed
[0782] Bradshaw et al. (2007), Inferring population trends for the world's largest fish from mark-recapture estimates of survival, PubMed
[0454] FishBase

External resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information SystemITIS 159857
Animal Diversity WebADW account
Encyclopedia of LifeSearch EOL
Genome ProjectSearch NCBI
Entrez

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