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Whale Shark
Orectolobiformes

Whale Shark

Rhincodon typus

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Max Length

18m

Overview

The largest fish on Earth. A filter feeder that consumes plankton, small fish, and fish spawn by ram-filtering seawater through its gill rakers. Completely harmless to humans. Aggregates seasonally at Ningaloo Reef and the Yucatán.

Habitat

Pelagic, open ocean to close inshore off beaches, coral reefs and islands, and surface to more than 2500 ft [762 m]. SRI has deployed satellite tags on a number of whale sharks, and a number of the sharks whale dived to 2500 ft (the maximum depth the tag could record), sometimes several times a day.

Distribution

Tropical & subtropical seas worldwide

Circumglobal, all tropical and warm temperate seas except the Mediterranean.

Behavior

Whale sharks are known to divers as “gentle giants” due to their placid nature. SRI has placed visual and satellite tags on more than 800 whale sharks in an effort to discover their migratory routes. Long-distance, long-term migrations are undertaken; the longest so far recorded was 8077.8 miles [13,000 km] (in one direction only) over a 37 month timespan. Tagging and photo-identification of individuals indicate regular visits to favored feeding sites to feed at annual, seasonal, or lunar fish and invertebrate spawning events. The high density of plankton produced on these occasions is consumed by suction feeding and gulping, often while hanging vertically.

Biology

Male Maturity
6m

Appearance

Whale Shark illustration
Dorsal
This shark has a checkerboard pattern of yellow or white stripes and spots on grey, bluish or greenish-brown back (white or yellowish underside).
Sources:sharksorg

Recorded incidents involving the whale shark

Recorded

3

Fatal

0

Fatality rate

0.0%

Years

1976–2009

Top countries

Years with most incidents

Counts are based on the species field of the Global Shark Attack File. Identifications by witnesses are often uncertain; treat figures as recorded incidents, not authoritative totals.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many shark attacks have been recorded involving the whale shark?
3 incidents in the Global Shark Attack File mention the whale shark, of which 0 were fatal (0.0%). Note that witness species identifications are often uncertain, so this is the count of recorded incidents.
Where do most whale shark incidents occur?
The countries with the most recorded whale shark incidents are Australia, Mozambique, South Africa.
Is the whale shark dangerous to humans?
The whale shark is not considered dangerous to humans under normal conditions. There are few or no recorded incidents involving this species.
Where does this species data come from?
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed taxonomy and published references. Incident data is sourced from the Global Shark Attack File and joined to species records by name match.
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