Male whale sharks bite the female’s tail to flirt

In a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Sciencethe author team presents the interaction between two whale sharks, helping to partly decode the mysteries surrounding this world’s largest fish. IFL Science reported on January 8. Their reproductive behavior is so mysterious that to date, scientists have only recorded one case of shark pregnancy in 1994.

Two sites around the St Helena Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia have some potential observations of whale shark courtship and mating. For example, fishermen have reported that they congregate together, with males swimming belly-up beneath supposedly sexually mature females.

“At Ningaloo Reef and many gathering places around the world, the number of male fish outnumbers female fish at a ratio of 3:1. This may explain why female whale sharks avoid gathering places. In particular, with young females, energy loss due to unwanted attention from males may be the reason for the strong bias against males,” said study co-author and doctoral student Christine Barry. from the Harry Butler Institute at Murdoch University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said.

At Ningaloo Reef, the team conducted field exploration, including spotting whale sharks by plane and then taking boats there. Experts then dived into the water to conduct scientific observations and determine the gender of whale sharks in the area.

Last year, the team dived with a 7-meter-long female whale shark. They believe that female whale sharks under 10 m are not sexually mature. Not long after, a male whale shark swam up. It rushes towards the female’s tail fin and bites her tail. After some interaction, the female quickly dives deeper, while the male still follows.

Based on their own observations as well as those of aquariums and fishermen around St Helena Island, the research team believes that this process matches the pre-copulatory behavior between the two whale sharks, and also matches records from whale sharks. other species. “Notably, males of the zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) – the whale shark’s closest living relative – has also been seen biting the tail of female zebra sharks,” the research team wrote.

However, scientists do not believe that the two whale sharks they observed mated successfully. Although it may have happened in deep water out of sight, they suggest that the female is actively resisting the male and that she is still young and sexually immature.