Rhincodon typus

Rhincodontidae
Whale Shark, Basking Shark, Checkerboard Shark, Tofu Shark
  • Rhincodon typus, Maldives, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
    Rhincodon typus, Maldives, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
  • Rhincodon typus, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Photo: Graham Edgar
    Rhincodon typus, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Photo: Graham Edgar
Distribution
Tropical Atlantic/Caribbean, Tropical Eastern Pacific, Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Unmistakeable filter-feeding shark with patterns of white dots extending in rows down body. Patterns are unique to individual animals and can be used to track movements (http://www.whaleshark.org). Largest of all fishes.
Information
  • Max Size: 1200 cm
  • Sea Temperature Range: 15.5-31.8°C
  • Depth: 0-700m
  • Habitat: Coral Reef, Open ocean
Rarity
  • Threats: By-catch, Exploitation
  • IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
  • Occurrence: Infrequent (4% of sites)
    Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
  • Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
    Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: extract from RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland
Report an Error
Further Information:
Copyright:
Copyright to the photographs on this site belongs solely to the credited photographers. Any requests for usage can be directed to the photographer through [email protected].

Please use this form only for a single type of error. If you see multiple errors on the page for this species, please report these in separate forms by clicking on this button again after submitting this form


Thank you for highlighting this error. We appreciate your assistance in maintaining high quality control standards

Copyright Reef Life Survey 2019
Made by Forte Web Design
Forte Web Design support RLS
Supported by The Ian Potter Foundation