Observation of whale shark Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828 in oceanic waters of the Bay of Bengal, India

Chelliah  Babu; Krishnan  Silambarasan; Antony Pillai  Tiburtius

doi:10.17017/j.fish.35

Chelliah Babu Fishery Survey of India, Fishing Harbour Complex, Royapuram, Chennai 600 013, Tamil Nadu, India
Krishnan Silambarasan Fishery Survey of India, Beach Road, Visakhapatnam 530001, Andhra Pradesh, India
Antony Pillai Tiburtius Fishery Survey of India, Fishing Harbour Complex, Royapuram, Chennai 600 013, Tamil Nadu, India

Keywords: Whale shark, Rhincodon typus, oceanic waters, Bay of Bengal

Abstract

The present study was based on sighting of whale shark, Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828 on 13^th and 14^th October 2016 incidentally in oceanic waters of Bay of Bengal at a depth of 3340 and 3270 m. These two sightings were thus confirmed by photographs. Whale sharks were reported in the coastal and near shore regions of India by many of the researchers and this is the first observation of R. typus in oceanic waters of east coast of India.

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