Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system

Español  Contact

Species: Rhincodon typus, Whale shark

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

head wide
mouth short, transverse
body: white spots
C: semilunar, base with keel

Next

Previous

Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828

Whale shark

Robust body; snout very short and broad; eye small, round; mouth wide, transverse, a little behind tip of snout; five long gill slits, last three over pectoral fin; two dorsal fins, first over pelvics, second and smaller fin over anal; tail fin almost symmetrical, with large lower lobe; tail base flattened, with large keel that continues forward as crest along body and over gill slits, with two more crests above along body.

Dark, with prominent white spots.

Size: 12 m (old visual records to 21 m).

Habitat: pelagic in nearshore and offshore waters.

Depth: 0-240 m.

This species is distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas, including throughout the eastern Pacific.


High Resolution Map Download

Species Data Create Report Export as Word File Export as Excel File
Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • In & Offshore
  • Offshore
Water Column Position
  • Surface
  • Mid Water
  • Water column only
  • Near Surface
Habitat
  • Water column
FishBase Habitat
  • Pelagic
Feeding Group
  • Data
  • Planktivore
Diet
  • Zooplankton
  • Pelagic fish eggs
  • Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
  • Data
  • Pelagic crustacea
  • Bony fishes
Egg Type
  • No data
  • No pelagic larva
  • Live birth
Global Endemism
  • Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America)
  • East Pacific + all Atlantic (East+West)
  • Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
  • TEP non-endemic
  • "Transpacific" (East + Central &/or West Pacific)
  • All species
  • All Pacific (West + Central + East)
  • East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West)
Regional Endemism
  • Eastern Pacific non-endemic
  • Island (s)
  • All species
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
  • Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
  • South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
  • Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
  • Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
IUCN Red List
  • Vulnerable
  • Listed
CITES
  • Appendix II
  • Listed
Length Max
  • 2140
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 240