A whale shark has been observed feeding at the seabed for the first time, rather than filter-feeding on plankton at the sea surface.
The unusual behaviour was spotted during a whale shark tour in Baja California Sur, Mexico, by an ecotourism guide who sent the footage (above) to researchers for analysis.
A 5-metre-long juvenile was observed sucking at the sand at around 6 metres deep, appearing to gulp down material from the substrate.
“No one’s ever seen this behaviour before,” says Darren Whitehead at Shark Research Mexico, who studied the footage.
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the biggest fish …
