Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus)

FishverifiedEndangered

Rhincodon typus

Smith, 1828

Whale Shark

Also known as: Basking Shark, East Indian Basking Shark, Checkerboard Shark, Tofu Shark

Verified againstWoRMS

About

Habitat

Pelagic-oceanic

Depth

0–1928 m

Max size

20 m

Max weight

34 t

Diet

Filtering plankton

Lifespan

80.4 yrs

Taxonomy

Class

Elasmobranchii

Order

Orectolobiformes

Family

Rhincodontidae

Where to find it

common

Australia (Ningaloo)Djibouti Honduras Maldives Mozambique Myanmar Philippines Thailand (Gulf of Thailand)

occasional

Ecuador Ecuador (Galápagos)Oman Philippines (Visayas)

rare

Australia (Great Barrier Reef)Costa Rica Malaysia (Peninsular)Mexico Mexico (Pacific)South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal)United Arab Emirates

Image: © Daniel Benák (CC-BY) · iNaturalist (CC-BY) · source