Whale Shark

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Orectolobiformes
Family: Rhincodontidae
Genus: Rhincodon
Species: R. typus

Photo Credit: Zac Wolf

Not your typical shark, the Whale Shark poses little to no danger to humans despite their enormous size. Whale Sharks grow upwards of 40 feet long and weigh in excess of 50,000 lbs, making this the largest living fish species.

The Whale Shark is mostly bluish-grey with a white belly and pale yellow stripes and spots that run along the width of its whole body. This color pattern helps the Whale Shark with camouflage. These yellow stripes and spots are quite unique from shark to shark and are therefore used to identify specific sharks by researchers and scientists.

Sexual maturity is throught to be around 30 years old and Whale Sharks are believed to live approximately 100 years.

Photo Credit: Werner Mischler

Incredibly, the Whale Shark diet consists of plankton, algae and small nekton such as krill and squid. During feeding, the Whale Shark sucks in a mouthful of water and food, closes its mouth, then expels the water through its gills, leaving its prey trapped inside where it is then swallowed. It does have several rows of teeth similar to other shark species, but because the whale shark is a filter feeder, the teeth do not play any role in feeding and are comparatively much smaller to other sharks. This method of feeding and its large body size is also what gives the Whale Shark its name.

Not much is known about the reproductive habits of Whale Sharks, but it is believed that whale sharks give birth to live young based on a 1996 capture of a pregnant Whale Shark carrying 300 embryos.