Whale shark

Rhincodon typus · Rhincodontidae

The whale shark is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. 7 ft) has been considered the largest reliably recorded. The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living non-cetacean animal.

Where the Whale shark lives

Recorded in Ashmore and Cartier Is., Ecuador, Mexico, Indonesia, Maldives, Peru and Philippines (Oceania, South America, North America, Asia and Seven seas (open ocean)).

Most records fall in Western Australia, Baja California Sur, Baja California, Cebu, Nusa Tenggara Barat and Bohol.

See the Whale shark’s range on the globe

Conservation status

Endangered (EN). In danger of dying out in the wild. Categories are the IUCN Red List as republished by GBIF.

Sources

The range is a density of 15,437 georeferenced GBIF records, not an expert-drawn map. Description from Wikipedia.