The biggest shark in the world. Species: Cetorhinus maximus = Giant shark

30.10.2019

Come visit us, we are interested! :-)

It is known that the largest animals in the world are marine life. Their sizes are sometimes truly impressive, reaching dizzying values. Speaking of categories like the biggest shark, in the first place here you can put whale (Rhincodon typus).

Everyone knows this name, however, not everyone knows that it belongs to two different types of marine individuals at once, which belong to completely different families - southern and northern. Accordingly, southern whale sharks live in the tropics, and giant northern whale sharks live in cold waters.

The size of such a fish reaches 23 meters, and the weight is 20 tons. Thus, only giant whales, which can be attributed to the list, can argue in size with a whale shark. Despite their imposing size and menacing appearance, the biggest shark absolutely not dangerous to humans, tk. It feeds on ordinary plankton, like whales. Adults prefer to filter water near the surface of the ocean, while juveniles live at depth.

The whale shark is one of the most calm and peaceful fish: it never attacks, like its bloodthirsty relatives, other marine life - squid, fish, octopuses, dolphins and seals. Scuba divers often get very close to this fish, take pictures, touch it and even try to mount it.

The eyes of the whale shark are tiny, while the mouth and gill slits, on the contrary, are huge. Her wide mouth opening is equipped with no less than 15 thousand small teeth - it stretches from eye to eye. In such a huge mouth, up to five adults could easily fit. The whale shark has a beautiful color; she behaves calmly in the sea space, tk. She has practically no opponents. On a day, a whale shark eats up to 200 kilograms of small crustaceans and plankton, pumping up to 350 tons of water through itself. Interestingly, the eggs of this marine life are the size of a pillow and have the same shape - a quadrangular one.

A worthy competitor, sharing the first place with the whale shark in terms of its dimensions, is giant shark, or ivory - Cetorhinus maximus(translated as "big sea monster"). To be more precise, the elephant shark takes second place after the whale shark, because. its maximum length is fifteen meters, and its weight is six tons. Little does anyone know that such a huge shark is inferior in size to ... a jellyfish! In America, it was discovered, the length of which turned out to be twice that of the elephant shark, namely - 37 meters. Such truly gigantic jellyfish belong to, and in some cases even exceed the size of blue whales.

Thus, the first is inferior to the second by an average of five meters: we are talking, of course, about the largest individuals that are found in single copies. These huge fish, which have a somewhat extravagant appearance - it's all about the interesting shape of their mouth - today are on the verge of complete extinction, therefore they are listed in the international Red Book. Under natural conditions, elephant sharks are becoming less common. The reason for this is poaching, as well as a long period of gestation by a shark cub, plus everything - a long period of time for the transition to a mature period.

Those lucky ones who managed to see the elephant shark in its natural habitat, remember its original appearance, for sure, for life. The most striking and unusual for our perception here is the widely spread shark's mouth, which resembles an open bag of incredible size with a cartilaginous frame inside. It is in this way that the giant feeds: with its huge mouth wide open, it surfs the expanses of the oceans, collecting, like a seine net, all marine small living creatures inside, which mainly includes plankton and crustaceans. Huge gill slits are visible inside the mouth. They perform an important function: each such gill contains more than a thousand gill horny villi, which serve to trap planktonic organisms from the water - all this resembles a giant filter.

In front and in the upper part of the giant mouth, which is slightly elongated vertically (unlike the whale shark, in which the oral gap is open horizontally), is an elongated nose. In this way, the elephant shark is similar to its predatory counterparts - its harmlessness is betrayed only by the absence of terrible teeth. Why does the elephant shark have such a name? The fact is that some young individuals of this fish have a nose compressed from the sides, which hangs over the mouth like a trunk - the picture is complemented by a head flattened on the sides. All this makes her look like an old elephant with sunken cheeks. Adult giants have almost no resemblance to elephants. Everything else Cetorhinus maximus is no different from an ordinary predatory shark.

Her body is long and dense, her head is quite large, the gill slits are of impressive length, there are two fins on her back - the first, or front, is slightly larger than the second, back. One fin on the tail and two in the front of the belly; the tail has an asymmetric shape - the upper part is larger than the lower one. The coloration of the elephant shark is much simpler than that of the whale: it has a dark gray color on the back and a slightly lighter shade on the belly. Sometimes you can find individuals that have brown, black and even spotted colors on their backs. From a distance, in body shape and color, this fish can be confused with a white shark. The eyes of the giant are very small, however, with the help of them, the fish perfectly distinguishes what is happening around it.

From a distance, it may seem that the elephant shark has no teeth at all. In fact, they are, but very small - no more than five to six millimeters in length. Of course, this fish simply does not need large teeth, because. its food is zooplankton, which it filters out with the help of gill rakers. But the stomach of this giant is truly huge: in some specimens caught, more than one ton of mass was found in it, consisting of all kinds of sea trifles. The elephant shark swims quite slowly - about three to four kilometers per hour, while at the same time opening its mouth wide, which allows it to pump a truly gigantic amount of water through itself. On average, in one hour, the shark filters up to five tons of sea "soup".

Unlike the whale shark, which stays in the upper layers, giant sharks often descend to a considerable depth - up to one kilometer. Mostly this happens in winter - when the upper layers of the water become poor in food. In summer, "elephants" gather in large flocks of 20-30 individuals and rise higher - they can even be seen from a ship or plane. Giant sharks live in both the northern and southern hemispheres - mainly in cool or temperate waters. The fact is that it is this water that is richest in the above-mentioned planktonic organisms, which are not capable of migrating over long distances.

Sometimes the question may arise - how can such giants as, elephant, whale sharks manage to provide for themselves without a hunger strike? After all, plankton are extremely small creatures. It's all about, of course, the level of concentration of this "food filler" in the water. In fact, the sea giants do not have to think about the lack of food, because. the total mass of plankton in a quantitative ratio exceeds the mass of all other marine life by thousands of times. Therefore, not only today, but for many years to come, all water giants are one hundred percent provided with food. In addition to everything, it is worth mentioning the research that was carried out by the Marine Biological Association from Plymouth (in the USA). Over the course of three years, she monitored twenty basking sharks, each with a satellite radio attached. Studies have shown that in order to provide themselves with food, elephant sharks are able to swim huge distances while diving to great depths.

In conclusion, we can talk about the ballast of the elephant shark - its giant liver. At the same time, allowing the fish to freely dive to a kilometer depth, it often serves as the subject of fishing for this fish. The fact is that shark liver is very fatty - it is often used to obtain expensive oils, which are then used in perfumery and pharmacology. So, from one individual you can get up to eight hundred liters of such fat, and from the largest - up to two thousand liters. In total, shark liver makes up about 20 percent of its total weight.

As for predatory individuals, here world's largest shark- white. In all respects, she is the greatest predator of the sea. The average body length of this fish reaches five meters. The largest representative of this species was a female caught off the Caribbean coast in 1945: her body length was 6.4 meters and her weight was 3.5 tons.

The strength of the jaws of the white shark is enormous: it boldly attacks boats with fishermen and smashes them to pieces. There is also evidence not confirmed by photos: in 1930, the team of a Portuguese fishing trawler managed to catch a white shark 12.5 meters long.

Especially for the Neimagination,
Mila Shurok

I was asked a good question: “How to build operational management in a company where everyone has gone crazy on project activities?”. The question is great, as it reflects many of the trends that exist in today's business. It generated a stream of thought. Which I wanted to write down, along the way talking about those myths that walk around the market and infect the brains of entrepreneurs and leaders. I want to warn the reader right away that the thoughts are multidirectional and I did not even make serious attempts to structure them, and I made subheadings simply to facilitate perception.

What do organizations and computers have in common?

First, let's compare an organization to a computer. Without an operating system, it's just a piece of iron. High-tech, expensive, but still, a piece of iron. Which can please the eye, but no longer bring any benefit. A fully equipped office without employees might look something like this. Or with employees who do not communicate with each other, come to the workplace and sit around all day doing nothing. That is, they can potentially benefit, but they do not.

If the operating system is installed and running, then you can install application programs on it that do something useful. At the same time, the OS itself does not offer any visible result. It "only" makes programs work. The quality of the operating system may vary. Some programmers have deeply studied the capabilities of the hardware and have written a program that ensures full performance. Moreover, they created a complete guide for future developers of application software. Others - they did it on a blunder, so that at least somehow it worked. Moreover, only a stubborn fan who is not too lazy to find out the properties of the system through trial and error can write application programs. The first system will run any application software. In the second, only a couple of programs, and even then with failures.

People in the organization

Now back to organizations. Everything here is very similar, but a little more complicated. The operating system is installed in the people who make up the executive mechanism of the company. That is, they can think, speak, make decisions, perform some operations with their hands. However, each operating system has its own. And it is far from always compatible with a similar system of a neighbor. Therefore, an organization needs a set of rules that will not only make the mechanism work, but also ensure that all components are compatible. I will not write in this article about how to do this. For, firstly, this is a topic for other reflections, and secondly, I write about it all the time anyway.

Where are they looking for a way?

The market does not offer a universal way to build an organization that is suitable for a stall, a factory, and a trading company. Unless the state indicates several mandatory clauses of the charter, and sets out requirements for formalizing relations with employees, transactions with partners and financial reporting. Where do you get this set of rules from? Naturally, those who have already managed to build effective organizations. Those who show high market results. The leaders.

And entrepreneurs rush into all serious. Learn from successful companies. They read books about how to achieve success in business. And they try to apply the same rules in their companies. However… Attempts to transfer successful management models to most organizations most often fail. Where are the numerous Zappos? Where is Patagonia? Where are the Toyotas? Where is Tavrida Electric? All of them are unique. Even though these companies actively share “secrets”, the same level of staff involvement, the same quality, and the same system of relationships cannot be achieved elsewhere. So maybe the point is not what specific methodology is used in these companies? Maybe it's in the operating system of the business? In those deep rules that are laid down in the system initially. Which are not visible to the naked eye, but have a critical impact on any process in the company. Let's figure it out.

And what are entrepreneurs and managers really trying to transfer to their companies? Regulations and work schedule? Bonus rules? The essence of conversations in smoking rooms? No matter how. For the most part, they try to implement only theses that they have read in books, heard at seminars or received on excursions to successful enterprises. Theses, which, according to successful entrepreneurs, led their companies to success. “Organize processes”, “Take care of people”, “Count money correctly”, “Be active”, etc. I can say with confidence that these slogans have not changed from year to year for the last hundred years, at least. Only the faces on the covers and the examples given in the books themselves change.

What about technology?

But what about the management technologies themselves? Little is written about them in motivational literature. That is, they talk a lot about what needs to be done and very little about how. And here comes the army of consultants. Both professional and not so professional. Offering specific methods. And, interestingly, the methods, too, as a rule, do not shine with novelty. But the names change regularly. After all, teaching methods is a business like any other. And according to the laws of marketing, he must regularly offer the consumer a “new” product.

The success of consulting projects, in fact, is determined by only one thing: do people do what is written in smart books or not. Maybe that's why IT projects are the most successful. After their implementation, it is simply impossible not to fulfill the requirements - you won’t press the button at the right time, you won’t get the result. True, many manage to ignore this and such, which is why expensive management software works on its own, and managers on their own.

Who is stronger - an elephant or a shark?

But regularly heard disputes, reminiscent of "my kung fu is better than your kung fu." This is argued by supporters of different approaches. “Project management is the only way,” some say. “We need structured management,” others answer. "Business processes!!!". "Linear-functional diagram - that's what will save the world!". "Matrix! Matrix only! True, then they come to their workplaces and perform, with different levels of quality, the usual managerial actions (well, of course, if they have someone to manage): they set tasks, scold employees for mistakes, write down tasks in a diary and think to entrust them to someone Or is it easier to do it yourself.

The essence of the disputes themselves most often lies in the fact that each of the arguing at one time was "torn" by some particular method, under which he is now trying to adjust the whole world. Often without paying attention to whether the technique really takes root. And this is a consequence of the fact that there are many developers of specific methodologies (although not so much), and few developers of integral models. But in fact, it is useless to argue about whether the process approach or the project approach is better. Each methodology should be applied at a specific point in time and be relevant to the tasks at hand. Both can exist without interfering with each other. And more often, helping. Arguing about whether to implement PMBOK or Agile (Yes! I heard such an argument!) Is generally harmful. For truth is not born in such a dispute, and those who argue, as a rule, do not own either one or the other. But the apologists of this or that doctrine are not dictated by logic. Some even announce the delivery of regular reports as a project.

Have you looked at the main thing?

In the meantime, it is worth remembering that any methodology is not an operating system. This is application software. Which is set on culture - a set of beliefs, traditions and rituals adopted in a particular country, area and company. Set on the core values of employees and customers. And on the system of basic regulations of the company. Try, for example, to implement Agile in a company where it is not customary to strive for results, but there is a tradition to arrange an emergency at the end of each period. Or try to create Zappos where people don't like each other and compete for convenience and rewards. Or "Marriott" where there is a tradition to consider tourists as cattle. It must be remembered that such an “operating system” is often installed by default. And without replacing it with a more modern and technologically advanced product, it is simply impossible to think about applying any methodology. First, you need to provide “elementary” things: basic regulations, labor discipline, motivation rules, etc. And for this, it will be necessary to remove all aggressive carriers of the old culture from the company, and convince the rest to create new traditions. Otherwise, it will be the same as when you try to install an iPhone application on an android. That is, it can be written to memory, but will not work. Although ... you can be proud that you still have it. Already a lot. To be a source of pride, it does not have to work at all (no, I am not hinting at the turquoise Sberbank at all).

Long and hard

However, the reset of values, regulations, motivational system, ideology is a long, dreary, difficult work and does not give results “right here and now”. Approximately the same as what is required in order to achieve results in the gym - you won’t get by with simulators alone: you need the right diet, the right routine, and even the right thoughts. Therefore, most skip this part and go straight to the study and implementation of the "magic wand". Just like in the gym, beginners immediately grab the heaviest barbell, injuring themselves and completely discouragement to continue training. And magic wands are divided into two categories: those that give at least some result, slightly changing the worldview of the entrepreneur himself, and those that do not give any result at all. The first are entrepreneurs who acquire a strong belief that there is a one-size-fits-all way to improve the company. The second ones also stick, but they make you believe that there is no universal way to improve. Or rather, that there are no ways at all. Then the conversations are like this: “We tried this and that. Nothing works because we failed.” Both of those are bullshit.

Tales you want to believe

But still, many believe that somewhere out there there are mysterious people, with an unattainable intellect and worldview, who managed to create something successful, despite the fact that it contradicts elementary logic. But looking as if it removes a large amount of burden from the entrepreneur. For example, many companies rave about "flat" structures. In reality, I have not yet seen any such structure that works and brings results. Most often, these are systems that overload managers with control and lose effectiveness. And the most responsible employees work for everyone else, only at the same time they do not have real powers, because now they are called not leaders, but “mentors” or something else. But a normal hierarchy is necessary for any company.

Or they believe that there are such IT systems that take companies to a new level. However, no system will work for employees. It can only force them to take certain actions and reduce the number of employees themselves, reducing the negative impact of the human factor. But is this a new level?

And many entrepreneurs also believe that by using clever tools, they can make employees think like them. They believe that leadership can be taught. And at the same time that there is a magical way to accomplish all this without changing their own habits. Well, well... crystal balls and proprietary products have always found their audience.

Well her, this reality

Once upon a time, I also believed that there are secrets that you just need to find out in order to create ideal systems. And then it turned out that there was only one secret. Those who achieve real success either have a unique product that provides the company with leadership in a certain segment for a certain time, which is enough to build a “modern technological” company. Or there is a monopoly. Or a unique manager who managed to infect the whole company with his ideas. And in all these companies there is a built-in system of regulations, rules and ideas. There is a correct operating system, without which all the "secrets" become useless. But it's harder to believe. There is nothing magical about this.

work damn it

Well, finishing this chaotic stream of thoughts, I will answer one question “What should I do?”, which entrepreneurs and managers regularly ask me. Work. And hope not for a miracle, but for the painstaking construction of the system. That is, in fact, on themselves.

We all know very well that the largest animals, or giant animals, lived on our Earth millions of years ago - these are various dinosaurs, mammoths, terrible birds and many, many other prehistoric animals. Their gigantic size and appearance seem stunning to us today.

But even today our world is full of the most amazing creatures that amaze with their shapes and sizes. It’s even hard to imagine what could have affected their height and weight, but they are what they are, the main thing is that they feel quite comfortable among us. What kind of animals are these, and in what natural conditions do they live, we will talk about this today. The rating is based on the weight, height and also the length of the animals.

1 place. Blue, or blue whale

The largest animal currently living on Earth is the blue, or blue whale (lat. Balaenoptera musculus). Even dinosaurs cannot compete with it - its size is impressive. This marine mammal grows up to 30 meters in length, weight can be more than 180 tons, even the tongue of this giant weighs about 2.7 tons (the size of an Asian elephant, medium in size). The mass of the heart of a blue whale is about 600 kilograms - this is the largest heart in the world.

The huge lungs of the blue whale (whose volume is 3 thousand liters) allow it to stay at a depth without oxygen for about 20 minutes. The maximum speed developed by this mammal is about 35 km / h, and the fountain released by it, which occurs when it reaches the surface, is up to 10 m.

2nd place. Sperm whale

The next representative - (lat. Physeter catodon) is the only representative of the sperm whale family today. It is the largest of the toothed whales. The male sperm whale grows up to 20 m in length, and it weighs up to 50 tons. Females of less impressive sizes - from 11 to 13 m, and weigh about 15 tons.

Interestingly, the head of an adult is approximately 35% of the entire body length. There are sperm whales and larger sizes, but this is rather an exception. In nature, sperm whales have practically no enemies. Killer whales attacking females and cubs are an exception; they cannot compete with an adult male.

3rd place. African elephant

African elephant (lat. Loxodonta africana) is the largest land animal living on earth. Includes two types - and. It occupies an honorable third place in this rating. With a height of 3 to 3.5 meters and a body length of 6-7.5 m, the mass of these animals can reach up to 6 or even 12 tons. Female African elephants are smaller than males: they grow up to 2.7 meters in height and 5.4-6.9 meters in length.

Despite its impressive size, it can move at a speed of 35-40 km / h (it will easily overtake a person). For a day, he can eat 300 kg of plant food. Due to its huge mass, it sleeps standing up. A very intelligent animal that is capable of mutual assistance and compassion. But, despite this, it belongs to the most dangerous animals on the planet.

4th place. Indian elephant

Indian or Asian elephant (lat. Elephas maximum) is the second largest land animal after the African elephant. The height can reach 2.5-3.5 m, the length of its body is about 5.5-6 m, and the tail of this elephant is not short - 1-1.5 m. This elephant can weigh from 5 to 5.5 tons . Females, just like African elephants, are much smaller.

These elephants are forest dwellers. They prefer light tropical and subtropical broad-leaved forests with dense undergrowth, which consists of shrubs and bamboo. Easily move through dense forests and swampy terrain. They live in groups led by the most mature and experienced female.

5th place. southern elephant seal

Southern elephant seal (lat. mirounga leonina) - is considered the largest pinniped in the world. These large and obese animals can grow up to 6 m in length and weigh up to 4-5 tons.

They can stay under water for about 2 hours (an officially registered record), dive to a depth of more than 1300 meters. They lead their entire life in the ocean, and rarely get out on land - mainly during the breeding season.

6th place. Hippo or hippopotamus

Behemoth (lat. Hippopotamus amphibius) is a mammal from the order of artiodactyls and the suborder of pigs. Indigenous African.

Hippos can steal up to 1.5-1.65 meters, body length can be from 3 to 5 meters, and weight - 3 tons or more. These animals increase their mass throughout their lives, they also grow teeth all their lives and can reach 0.5 m in length. Interestingly, only the skin weighs 0.5 tons.

7th place. white rhino

White rhino (lat. Ceratotherium simum) is the 2nd largest herbivore of the planet. Adult individuals grow in height - up to 1.6-2 m, in length about 3.8-4.2 m.

The average weight of a white rhino is about 3 tons, there are individuals much larger - about 8 tons. Interestingly, the white rhino is not white at all, but rather gray. He probably got this name from the distorted Boer word "wijde", which means "broad-faced" - consonant with the English word "white" (Russian white).

8th place. Walrus

Walruses (lat. Odobenus rosmarus) is one of the ancient large animals that have existed since the last ice age. Fossils found in San Francisco Bay date back approximately 28,000 years.

Even now, these giants grow up to 3 m in length and weigh up to 2 tons, the thickness of the skin (on the neck and shoulders of males) is up to 10 cm, and the layer of fat is up to 15 cm. The large ones are perfectly adapted to life in the harsh conditions of the Arctic. They feed mainly on shellfish, but they can also eat fish.

9th place. black rhinoceros

Black rhinoceros (lat. Rhinoceros bicornis) is slightly smaller than white. The mass of this animal does not exceed 1.5-2 tons, the body length is about 3-3.5 meters, the height at the shoulders is 1.5-1.6 m. Their habit of moving along the same paths and poor eyesight makes them vulnerable and vulnerable to poachers.

The black rhinoceros has no natural enemies, so it is not at all shy and because of this it automatically becomes an easy trophy for hunters. Interestingly, the body of the black rhino is more elongated and lighter than the white one.

10th place. combed crocodile

Saltwater crocodile (lat. Crocodylus porosus) is the largest and most massive reptile on the planet. Salted crocodile can grow up to 5.5-7 meters (usually 5 m) in length, the weight of an adult (male) is from 409 kg to 1.5 tons.

An interesting fact: it has a high commercial value because of its skin, from which all kinds of clothes, shoes, etc. are made. It is an object of fishing and is bred on crocodile farms.

Modern animal species are not inferior in size to prehistoric animals, but if a person does not treat wildlife with due respect, then they will all die out just like those that lived millions of years ago.

It is the largest marine mammal in the world. Many types of sharks also live in the oceans. Among these species "Whale Shark" - the biggest shark in the world.

For many years, sharks have fascinated people with their deadly power and formidable appearance. Mankind creates myths around these mammals, and then write books or make films based on them.

We have already briefly introduced you to the largest shark in the modern world. But when compiling such ratings, many authors mistakenly add Megalodon, a huge shark that appeared on our planet about 23 million years ago and lived in the oceans until the late Pliocene (2.6 million years ago).

By the way, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest ever living predatory shark is Carcharodon Megalodon, which was about 16 m long and possibly 2 meters wide.

Now let's go directly to the list of the largest sharks in the world that can be found in the waters of the oceans.

The biggest sharks in the world

Great whale shark

The whale shark is the largest and heaviest shark in existence because it weighs over 21 tons and is over 12 meters long. These mammals live in the open ocean and warm waters. Basically, these predators feed on plankton, but sometimes they can be found while hunting for larger fish. Whale sharks are not threatened with extinction because their population is quite large.

The heaviest whale shark (which was found) weighed about 21,000 kg. But the longest is 12.19 meters.

giant shark

This shark is in second place in our ranking. They live in the temperate and warm oceans of the world. These giants are quite friendly and never look at divers. Giant sharks feed on plankton and small fish. This species of mammal is the heaviest in British waters.

The average weight of this shark of this species is 14515 kg and its length varies from 9 to 11.6 meters.

Great white shark

The great white shark is the largest predatory fish in the world and it feeds on other marine life. If you have seen the movie "Jaws", then you are undoubtedly aware of the fact that these predators do not disdain to eat "man". But in reality, this fish rarely attacks humans.

Very often, great white sharks can be found in coastal areas of all oceans. Their average weight is about 3300 kg. Yes, by the way, the white shark is also the fastest shark in the world.

Greenland shark

This huge shark lives in the cold waters of the oceans, and their largest population was found in the North Atlantic Ocean, near Greenland and Iceland. This is a deep sea fish that is not often seen, even when diving underwater. The meat of Greenland sharks is poisonous, so they are not used as food.

Its average weight is about 1020 kg. And she is in 4th place in the list of the largest sharks in the world.

Tiger shark

This is another kind of dangerous and predatory sharks that eat all kinds of marine animals. It is considered the most dangerous to humans because they often attack humans. "Tiger" this shark was nicknamed because of the stripes on its body, thanks to which it outwardly resembles the color of tigers. It is found in all oceans and especially where warm waters are present. The average weight of tiger sharks is about 939 kilograms.

hammerhead shark

Hammerhead sharks live off the coast of all oceans and some large seas. Despite the fact that this is a dangerous predator, they very rarely attack people. Scientists say that hammerhead sharks are on the verge of extinction.

This species of shark is famous for its beautiful fins and hammerhead head shape. Also, because of their appearance, many people call hammerhead sharks the strangest marine life.

The average weight of these predators is about 844 kg.

sixgill shark

The sixgill shark is also on the list of the largest sharks in the world. These predators feed on various kinds of marine life. Sixgill sharks are found in almost all oceans, especially in the Pacific Ocean. These predators reach a length of about 5.5 m, and their average weight is about 590 kg.

gray sand shark

The gray sand shark is one of the few species of non-aggressive sharks. They live in different parts of our planet, from this they have many names. But most often it is called the "common sand shark." This species feeds on most marine life, as well as some other smaller sharks.

The gray sand shark stands out for its beautiful appearance, especially many people like to watch these predators swim in the waters of the oceans.

The average weight of sharks of this species is about 556 kg.

mako shark

Moco sharks are in ninth place on our list of the world's largest sharks. This is a very rare species of shark and they are endangered. Some researchers claim that moko is one of the most intelligent marine animals.

The average weight of mocha sharks is 544 kg.

fox shark

This is the last species of sharks in our ranking. Mostly fox sharks are found in waters in temperate and warm oceans, especially in the Pacific. He doesn't attack people. This is a very important species of sharks, as humanity uses their liver to produce medicines. The average weight of these predators is about 500 kg.

THE BIGGEST SHARK IN THE WORLD MEGALODON - video:

Top 10 Scariest Sharks! - video:

Kodiak bear

This is not the heaviest land animal, but I would like to mention it in our review. A subspecies which in many countries is under state protection. The average weight of a male exceeds 700 kilograms, and that of a female - 300 kilograms. At the same time, it must be said that cases have been recorded when the weight of the kodiak exceeded a ton.

White (polar) bear

It is the heaviest carnivore that lives on land. The largest polar bear weighed a little over a ton and had a body length of about three meters. The height of the predator standing on its paws was 3.39 m. The average body length of male polar bears is about two and a half meters, the height at the withers is up to one and a half meters, and the average weight reaches eight hundred kilograms. Bears are about half the size of males, their weight does not exceed 300 kilograms. It is interesting that a hundred thousand years ago (during the Pleistocene epoch), a huge polar bear lived on earth, whose weight exceeded 1.2 tons, and its size was four meters in length.

Hippopotamus

This is one of the largest and heaviest animals living on Earth. The weight of large males often exceeds four tons, so the hippopotamus is a worthy competitor to the rhinoceros in the fight for second place in terms of mass among terrestrial inhabitants.

Now the hippo in natural conditions is found only in Africa, south of the Sahara, although in ancient times, for example, it had a wider range. This giant lived in North Africa, and scientists believe that he lived in the Middle East. However, by the early Middle Ages, it was destroyed in these regions. In 2006, the International Union for Conservation of Nature recognized the hippopotamus as vulnerable.

The number of these animals at that time did not exceed one hundred and fifty thousand heads. The natives of Africa destroy hippos primarily for the sake of meat, so bloody wars and instability in many countries of the continent force starving people to look for food, thereby causing great damage to the animal population.

African elephant

This is the heaviest animal in the world that lives on land. From brothers living on other continents, he differs not only in body weight, but also in huge ears, which help him feel most comfortable under the rays of the scorching African sun.

The tusks of these giants are highly valued. It was they who nearly became the cause of the complete extermination of elephants. A huge number of animals were killed for expensive trophies. The situation with the disappearance of the population was saved by nature reserves and national parks.

The weight of African elephants is impressive: adult males weigh more than 7.5 tons, but at the same time, the heaviest land animal is very mobile, swims well and feels confident even on rocky terrain. African elephants are herbivores. They feed on young shoots of trees and shrubs, grass. An adult absorbs up to one hundred kilograms of green mass per day. Animals form small herds of 9-14 individuals. In addition to humans, elephants have no enemies in nature.

Knowing how much an elephant and a hippopotamus weigh, different ones can easily determine the leader by body weight. This is, of course, the African elephant, which is the heaviest land animal. It's time to get acquainted with the underwater inhabitants. Perhaps the heaviest animal in the world lives in the depths of the sea.

whale shark

This is the largest shark among its relatives. Despite the impressive size (up to twenty meters) and impressive weight (up to twenty tons), this is not the heaviest. Representatives of this species live in the southern and northern seas. Northern individuals are much larger.

This gray-brown giant, covered with white spots, the location of which is unique to each individual, lives for about seventy years. They feed by filtering out plankton and filtering the water. During the day, the shark passes 350 tons of water and eats more than two hundred kilograms of plankton. The mouth of this "fish" can accommodate up to five people, its jaws are strewn with fifteen thousand small teeth.

But these inhabitants of the depths are never the first to attack a person, and many scuba divers even touch them. Whale sharks are little studied and very slow. Their number is small, so the species is listed in the Red Book.

sperm whale - toothed whale

Another very large, but not the heaviest animal. The weight of an adult male is about seventy tons, and its body length reaches twenty meters. The body shape of the sperm whale (in the form of a drop) allows it to make long journeys in a short time (during the migration period).

Sperm whales, unlike whales, live in groups of up to 150 animals. The representative of the species has a huge rectangular head, compressed on the sides. It makes up a third of the entire body of the whale. Below is a mouth with cone-shaped teeth. In these animals, the lower jaw is mobile and can open almost 90 degrees, which helps to capture rather large prey.

Sperm whales (sperm whales) have one blowhole located in front of the head. It is slightly shifted to the left. Sperm whales feed on cephalopods and fish. But at the same time, they can attack seals, dive to the bottom for squid, crabs, sponges and mollusks, descending to a depth of more than 400 meters.

The blue whale is the heaviest animal

This is really the largest animal on our planet. The length of the body reaches thirty meters, and the mass of the blue whale is 180 tons and more. The females are slightly larger than the males.

It's hard to imagine, but the tongue of this sea giant weighs about 2.7 tons, which is comparable to the weight of an Indian elephant. The blue whale has the largest heart among mammals: it weighs 900 kilograms. To imagine its dimensions, look at the Mini Cooper car. They are comparable in size and weight.

The heaviest animal in the world has an elongated and rather slender body. On a huge head are disproportionately small eyes. The pointed muzzle has a wide lower jaw. The blue whale has a blowhole, from which, when exhaling, it releases a fountain of water, reaching a height of 10 meters. In front of the blowhole there is a well-marked longitudinal ridge - the so-called breakwater.

This giant has a dorsal fin that is strongly shifted back. Compared to its body size, it is quite small and triangular in shape. Its rear edge is covered with scratches, forming an individual pattern for each whale.

Physiological features

The sense of smell and vision of the blue whale are rather poorly developed. But the sense of touch and hearing are excellent. Representatives of this species of whales have a huge lung capacity, and the amount of blood exceeds eight thousand liters. Despite its impressive size, the blue whale has a narrow throat with a diameter of only ten centimeters. The pulse of this is 5-10 beats per minute and rarely rises to 20 beats.

The skin of the blue whale is even and smooth, except for the stripes on the belly and throat. These animals are practically not overgrown with crustaceans, which often settle on other whales in large numbers. The color of the animal is predominantly gray with a blue tint. The head and lower jaw are usually painted in a darker and more intense gray.