The whale shark is the largest living fish.
COMPLETE SPECIES PROFILE
Whale shark
Rhincodon typus
One species, many connections.
Also known as: largest fish, whale shark
WHY IT MATTERS
One species, many connections.
Its movements reveal links between plankton blooms, ocean currents, tourism, fisheries, and international conservation.
- Scientific name
- Rhincodon typus
- Animal group
- Vertebrate · Chondrichthyes
- Environment
- Marine
PUBLIC-DOMAIN VISUAL RECORDS
Two additional perspectives
Together with the primary image, these records show behavior and habitat without covering the photographs with labels.
INTERACTIVE TAXONOMY
Interactive classification
Select any rank to understand what the classification means.
DID YOU KNOW?
Curiosities that reveal how it lives
Its spot pattern can be used like a fingerprint.
Despite its size, it feeds mostly on very small organisms.
It is a shark, not a whale.
Where it lives
Tropical and warm-temperate oceans, often near productive coasts and seasonal plankton blooms.
How it lives
Plankton, fish eggs, small fish, and squid filtered from seawater.
Key adaptations
A huge mouth, specialized filtering structures, and a spotted pattern unique to each individual.
Its connections
Its movements reveal links between plankton blooms, ocean currents, tourism, fisheries, and international conservation.
Pressures and protection
Ship strikes, bycatch, targeted fishing, plastic pollution, and disturbance at aggregation sites.