Species › Giants and filter feeders
Whale shark
Rhincodon typus
Specimen No. 01
Rhincodon typus
Giants and filter feeders
- The whale shark is the largest known living fish. A whale shark 18.8 m (61.7 ft) long is considered the largest reliably recorded. Wikipedia
- It’s a filter feeder, eating plankton, krill, fish eggs and small fish, and can filter over 6,000 litres of water an hour. Wikipedia
- Each whale shark’s pattern of pale spots and stripes is unique to that individual. Wikipedia
- Whale sharks are thought to live for between 80 and 130 years. Wikipedia
- A whale shark caught in 1996 was carrying about 300 pups, which showed that whale sharks keep their eggs inside the body until they hatch. Wikipedia
- In its 2016 assessment, the IUCN listed the whale shark as Endangered. Wikipedia