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Higher taxa:  Life   Vertebrata   Fish   Rhincodontidae   Rhincodon   Global map IDnature guides: Fish, Fish_species_NCSM, SFTEP We parsed the following live from the Web into this page. Such content is managed by its original site and not cached on Discover Life. Please send feedback and corrections directly to the source. See original regarding copyrights and terms of use. Taiwan Biodiversity National Information Network FishBase

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© Copyright Photographer/SFTEP, 2002 Rhincodon typus

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Overview

Main identification features use genus Robust body; snout very short and broad; eye small, round; mouth wide, transverse, a little behind tip of snout; five large gill slits, last three over pectoral fin; two dorsal fins, first over pelvics, second and smaller fin over anal; tail almost symmetric, with large lower lobe; tail base flattened, with large keel that continues forward as crest along body and over gill slits, with two more crests above along body. Dark, with prominent white spots. Size: to 21.40 m. Habitat: pelagic in nearshore and offshore waters. Depth: 0-240 m. This species is distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas, including throughout the eastern Pacific. Attributes Abundance: Common. Cites: Appendix II. Climate Zone: North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California); Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap); Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos); Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo); South Temperate (Peruvian Province ). Depth Range Max: 240 m. Depth Range Min: 0 m. Diet: zooplankton; pelagic fish eggs; bony fishes; Pelagic crustacea; octopus/squid/cuttlefish. Eastern Pacific Range: Northern limit=33; Southern limit=-27; Western limit=-118; Eastern limit=-71; Latitudinal range=60; Longitudinal range=47. Egg Type: Live birth; No pelagic larva. Feeding Group: Planktivore. FishBase Habitat: Pelagic. Global Endemism: Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans); East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West); Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America); East Pacific + all Atlantic (East+West); All Pacific (West + Central + East); TEP non-endemic; "Transpacific" (East + Central &/or West Pacific); All species. Habitat: Water column. Inshore Offshore: Inshore; Offshore; In & Offshore. IUCN Red List: Vulnerable; Listed. Length Max: 2140 cm. Regional Endemism: Island (s); Continent; Continent + Island (s); Eastern Pacific non-endemic; Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic; All species. Residency: Resident. Salinity: Marine; Marine Only. Water Column Position: Mid Water; Near Surface; Surface; Water column only;

Names

Scientific source:       Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Links to other sites

Fishbase Catalog of Fishes Integrated Taxonomic Information System

References

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Acknowledgements

Ross Robertson, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute I thank Ashley MacDonald and John Pickering, University of Georgia, for technical support in building this page.