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Recent whale shark (Rhincodon typus) beach strandings in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

C.W. Speed ,
M.G. Meekan ,
B.C. Russell  and
C.J.A. Bradshaw
C.W. Speed*
Affiliation:
Australian Institute of Marine Science, PO Box 40197, Casuarina MC, Northern Territory 0811, Australia School for Environmental Research, Institute of Advanced Studies, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory 0809, Australia
M.G. Meekan
Affiliation:
Australian Institute of Marine Science, PO Box 40197, Casuarina MC, Northern Territory 0811, Australia
B.C. Russell
Affiliation:
Marine Biodiversity Group, Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, PO Box 496, Palmerston, Northern Territory 0831, Australia
C.J.A. Bradshaw
Affiliation:
School for Environmental Research, Institute of Advanced Studies, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory 0809, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C.W. Speed, Australian Institute of Marine Science, PO Box 40197, Casuarina MC, Northern Territory 0811, Australia email: c.speed@aims.gov.au
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Abstract

We document two recent beach strandings of whale sharks on both the east and west coasts of Australia and compare them to strandings of other species of shark and cetaceans. Historically, whale shark stranding is an unusual phenomenon in Australia. Although the reasons for whale shark strandings are speculative, their low frequency suggests they are unlikely to pose any considerable threat to the population viability of this species in Australia.

Keywords

whale sharkRhincodon typusbeach strandingAustralia
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 2 , January 2009 , e15
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

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Footnotes

4

Present address: Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia, and South Australian Research and Development Institute, PO Box 120, Henley Beach, South Australia 5022, Australia

References

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