AY Honors/Species Account/Megachasma pelagios/en

Megachasma Pelagios

Megamouth Shark (Megachasma Pelagios)

Where found: They have been found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Japan and Taiwan have each recorded more than 10 specimens. Specimens have also been pulled from the waters near Hawaii, California, Mexico, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Senegal, South Africa, and Ecuador.

Description: The Megamouth Shark is an extremely rare species of deepwater shark, and one of three plankton-eating sharks (with the whale shark and basking shark). It swims with its enormous mouth wide open, filtering water for plankton and jellyfish It is distinctive for its large head with rubbery lips. It has a brownish-black colour on top, is white underneath, and has an asymmetrical tail with a long upper lobe. The interior of its gill slits are lined with finger-like gill rakers that capture its food. A relatively poor swimmer, the megamouth has a soft, flabby body and lacks keels. The first Megaouth was only discovered in 1976 near Hawaii, and as of 2012 only 56 specimens known to have been caught or sighted. Megamouths are large sharks, able to grow to 5.5 metres (18 ft) in length. Males mature by 4 metres (13 ft) and females by 5 metres (16 ft). Weights of up to 1,215 kg (2,679 lb) have been reported. The average size of their big mouth is about 1.3 meters. Extremely rare video