Species: Rhincodon typus, Whale Shark

Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828

Whale Shark

Body heavy, cylindrical; snout very short, broad and flattened; eye small, round, behind short mouth; mouth wide but short, opening almost at front of head, a little behind tip of snout; five large gill slits, last three over pectoral fin; teeth very small, many, with hooked tips; two dorsal fins, first over pelvics, 2nd much smaller, over anal; tail asymmetrical, but with large lower lobe; tail base flattened, with large keel that continues forward as crest along body and over gill slits, with two or more crests above along body.

Dark, with prominent white spots & bars.

Size: 18.8 m (old visual records to 21 m).

Habitat: pelagic in nearshore and offshore waters.

Depth: 0-1928 m.

This species is distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas; throughout the western Atlantic.