What is the key mouth placement difference between the whale shark and the basking shark?
Answer
The whale shark mouth is terminal, while the basking shark's is subterminal.
A crucial anatomical distinction differentiating the whale shark from other large filter feeders, such as the basking shark, is the placement of the mouth. The whale shark possesses a terminal mouth, meaning it is located directly at the very front of the head, allowing it to open enormously to engulf several hundred liters of water per gulp for ram filtration. In contrast, the basking shark features a subterminal mouth, which is situated beneath the head. This difference in mouth orientation is considered a key evolutionary divergence among the group of sharks that have specialized in giant filter feeding, even though both sharks occupy a similar ecological niche.
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