For the first time, a whale shark has been observed feeding on the sea floor, rather than filtering for plankton at the sea surface.
The unusual behavior was spotted on a whale shark tour in Baja California Sur, Mexico, by an ecotourism guide who sent the footage (above) to researchers for analysis.
A 5 m long juvenile was observed suckling on the sand at about 6 m and appeared to gobble up material from the substrate.
“No one has ever seen this behavior before,” says Darren Whitehead Shark Research Mexicowho studied the images.
whale shark (Rhincodon typus) are the largest fish…