File:Basking-Shark-Scale-Chart-SVG-Steveoc86-001.svg

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English: A diagram showing a newborn, an average-sized adult, and large adult basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus).


• The maturity and growth of the basking shark are poorly understood.[1][2]


• Newborn basking sharks are around 1.5 to 1.7 meters (4.9 to 5.6 ft) in length (1.5 m shown in the diagram above).[1][3]


• The sizes at which basking sharks reach sexual and physical maturity are unclear, and numbers vary from source to source. For male basking sharks, stated sexual maturity sizes range from 4.6 to 7.5 meters (15 to 25 ft) in length.[4][2][3][5] The size at sexual maturity for female basking sharks in published sources is usually larger than males, ranging from 7.7 to 9.8 meters (25 to 32 ft) in length.[1][2][3][4] Matthews (1950) and Natanson et al. (2008) considered basking sharks over ~7 metres (23 ft) to be mature.[6][7] Wood (1982) suggested the average adult length of 7.9 metres (26 ft). Castro (2011) states that specimens 7 to 8.5 meters (23 to 28 ft) are common.[8][9] Because Wood's average value fits well within Castro's numbers, I have shown it in the diagram above. However, these values might not represent the average length of physical maturity for the species.


• The largest size the basking shark can reach is uncertain.
There are historical reports of basking sharks in the region of 12 to 15 meters (39 to 49 ft) in length, but many of these lack detailed documentation or are visual estimates.[10][8][11][9][3] An individual commonly reported as 40 feet 3 inches (or 12.27 meters), caught in a herring net in Musquash Harbor in 1851, is often cited as the largest.[8][12] However, early sources for this claim, Perley (1852) and Jackson (1854), simply describe it as '40 feet', possibly based on comparison to a boat.[13][14]
In more modern literature, large basking sharks have been reported in the region of 9 to 10 meters (30 to 33 ft) in length, with a few 11 metres (36 ft) individuals mentioned.[2][8][4][15][16][9] How many of these have been actually measured is less clear. Pauly (2002), looking at the growth and longevity of the basking shark, concluded that anything larger than ~10 metres (33 ft) was unlikely.[17] However, Sims (2008) considered a 12.2 metres (40 ft) male, caught between 1980 and 1983, as the 'longest reliable measurement'.[2] Evidence suggests that females grow slightly larger than males.[3] There is also evidence of variation in mean size between different oceans and the northern and southern hemispheres.[12]


• Artist Note: There are several ways the total length can be measured, such as placing the tail at a natural angle, stretching the tail out, or measuring straight parallel measurements, or running over the curves of the body. Unfortunately, not all studies specify the details of how the total length was measured. This uncertainty could result in errors in diagrams like these.

References

  1. ↑ a b c (in English) Sims, D. W. (1997). "Basking shark occurrence off south-west England in relation to zooplankton abundance". Journal of Fish Biology 51 (2): 436–440. DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1997.tb01677.x. ISSN 0022-1112.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Sims, David W. (2008-01-01), “Chapter 3 Sieving a Living: A Review of the Biology, Ecology and Conservation Status of the Plankton‐Feeding Basking Shark Cetorhinus Maximus”, in Advances in Marine Biology[1], volume 54, Academic Press, DOI:10.1016/s0065-2881(08)00003-5, pages 171–220
  3. ↑ a b c d e Compagno, Leonard J. V. (2002) Sharks of the world : an annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date, Rome: United Nations Development Programme ISBN: 92-5-101384-5. OCLC: 12214754.
  4. ↑ a b c (in English) Hernández, Sebastián (2010). "Review of the occurrence and distribution of the basking shark ( Cetorhinus maximus) in Chilean waters". Marine Biodiversity Records 3: e67. DOI:10.1017/S1755267210000540. ISSN 1755-2672.[dead link]
  5. ↑ (in English) Francis, M. (2002-04-01). "Distribution, seasonal abundance and bycatch of basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) in New Zealand, with observations on their winter habitat". Marine Biology 140 (4): 831–842. DOI:10.1007/s00227-001-0744-y. ISSN 1432-1793.
  6. ↑ Matthews, Leonard Harrison (1950-04-05). "Reproduction in the basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus (gunner)". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 234 (612): 247–316. DOI:10.1098/rstb.1950.0003.
  7. ↑ (in English) Natanson, Lj (2008-06-09). "Ontogenetic vertebral growth patterns in the basking shark Cetorhinus maximus". Marine Ecology Progress Series 361: 267–278. DOI:10.3354/meps07399. ISSN 0171-8630.
  8. ↑ a b c d Wood, Gerald L. (1982) The Guinness book of animal facts and feats (3rd ed.), Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives ISBN: 0-85112-235-3. OCLC: 9852754.
  9. ↑ a b c Castro, José I. (2011) The sharks of North America, Oxford University Press ISBN: 978-0-19-539294-4. OCLC: 777927872.
  10. ↑ (in English) Matthews, L. Harrison (1950). "Notes on the anatomy and biology of the Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus (Gunner)).". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 120 (3): 535–576. DOI:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1950.tb00663.x. ISSN 1469-7998.
  11. ↑ Carwardine, Mark (2008) Animal Records, Category:New York: Sterling ISBN: 9781402756238.
  12. ↑ a b McClain, Craig R. (2015-01-13). "Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna". PeerJ 3: e715. DOI:10.7717/peerj.715. ISSN 2167-8359.
  13. ↑ Perley, M. H. (1852) Three descriptive catalogues of the fishes of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, pp. 222−223
  14. ↑ Jackson, C. T. (1854). "[Letter by Robert Foulis, giving a description of a large shark recently taken in the Bay of Fundy]". Boston Society of Natural History 4: 202.
  15. ↑ Schwartz, F. J. (2010). "Basking and whale sharks of North Carolina". Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science 126: 84-87.
  16. ↑ (in English) Matthews, L. Harrison (1950). "Notes on the anatomy and biology of the Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus (Gunner)).". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 120 (3): 535–576. DOI:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1950.tb00663.x. ISSN 1469-7998.
  17. ↑ Pauly, D.; Fowler, Sarah L., Reed, Tim M., Dipper, Frances, 1951-, IUCN--The World Conservation Union. Species Survival Commission. (2002) Growth and Mortality of the Basking Shark Cetorhinus maximus and their Implications for Management of Whale Sharks Rhincodon typus, Elasmobranch biodiversity, conservation, and management : proceedings of the international seminar and workshop, Sabah, Malaysia, July 1997, Gland: IUCN ISBN: 2-8317-0650-5. OCLC: 50526779.
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