Abstract

A specimen of 460 mm long whale shark (Rhyncodon typus Smith, 1828) was caught incidentally in a gill net fishing for albacore to 17 nautical miles north of the Peninsula de Macanao, Isla Margarita, The neonate was captured alive by fishermen and taken to the Aquarium of the Marine Museum of Margarita (MMM) where it was kept in a quarantine tank 1.50 m in diameter, continuous aeration and water circulation, feeding twice a day with live plankton, freshly caught, and a complementary vitamins. Under these conditions it was kept alive for 32 days in apparent good condition, actively feeding until two days before his death is to be maintained nearly upright. It was preserved in the ichthyological collection of the MMM with the number MMMi 650. This represents the first record of a live baby in Venezuela and the 2nd worldwide. The discovery of this specimen has a considerable interest because when it was captured a sizable group of adult whale shark where seen in the vicinity so it can be assumed that this is an area where this species congregate to reproduce.

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