The whale shark is the largest living fish, reliably measured up to 61.7 ft (18.8 m), yet it feeds by filtering plankton and small fish from the water. Despite the name it is a shark, not a whale. In US waters it occurs along the Atlantic coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and off Hawaii and California.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A broad, flat head with a wide mouth at the very front, three ridges along each side, and a gray to bluish back with a checkerboard of pale spots and stripes that is unique to each shark. The belly is white.
Look-alikes
The whale shark has a checkerboard of pale spots, a broad flat head with the mouth at the very front, and three ridges on each side. The basking shark lacks the spots, has a pointed snout, and has huge gill slits that nearly circle its head.
Why they get mixed upBoth are giant filter-feeding sharks seen near the surface; basking sharks gather off the northeastern US.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Warm open ocean
- Coastal feeding areas
- Near the surface
- Range
- Found worldwide in tropical and warm-temperate seas. In the western Atlantic it ranges from about New York south through the Caribbean to Brazil, including US Gulf of Mexico waters. In the Pacific it is found off Hawaii and from California to Chile.
- Preferred conditions
- Prefers water warmer than about 70°F (21°C) and gathers seasonally where food is plentiful.
- Migration
- Travels very long distances; one tagged female swam about 4,800 miles (7,772 km) in 150 days.
Behavior
- Diet
- Plankton, krill, fish eggs, and small schooling fish such as sardines and anchovies, sucked in and strained through filter pads.
- Social life
- Docile and generally harmless to people. Touching or riding whale sharks is banned in many countries.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Eggs hatch inside the mother, who gives birth to live pups about 22–25 in (55–64 cm) long. One pregnant female caught off Taiwan carried about 300 pups.
- Lifespan
- Lifespan estimates vary from about 60 to over 100 years, and the species matures late.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- ENEndangeredVery high risk of extinction in the wild
- Status
- Numbers have fallen by more than half over 75 years, mainly from fishing, bycatch, vessel strikes, and pollution. International trade has been regulated since 2003.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta is the only aquarium outside Asia that keeps whale sharks.
More species to explore
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