Meet the largest living fish in the world, reaching up to 12 m (39 ft) in length and weighing about 19,000 kg (21 tons). They are also called gentle giants because they are harmless and friendly to humans. They belong to the order Orectolobiformes, which includes other carpet sharks such as nurse sharks and wobbegongs.
Whale sharks are filter feeders, which means they eat tiny plankton and small fish by sucking water into their huge mouths. They have over 300 rows of teeth, but they don’t use them for biting or chewing. They have five pairs of gill slits that filter the water and trap the food inside their mouths. They also have a pair of barbels, whisker-like organs near their nostrils that help them sense their prey. Whale sharks are usually found in warm tropical and subtropical waters worldwide.
Distribution
Atlantic Ocean
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
American Samoa
Angola
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Aruba
Australia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belize
Benin
Brazil
British Virgin Is.
Brunei
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Chile
China
Colombia
Congo-Brazzaville
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cuba
Curaçao
Côte D’ivoire
DR Congo (Kinshasa)
Djibouti
Dominica
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Fiji
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guatemala
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Kiribati
Liberia
Madagascar
Malaysia
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mexico
Micronesia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Niue
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Saint Helena
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent
Samoa
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Sint Maarten
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
St. Kitts & Nevis
Sudan
Suriname
São Tomé & Príncipe
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Turks & Caicos
Tuvalu
UAE
US Virgin Islands
United States
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Wallis & Futuna
YemenAnything we've missed?
Help us improve this page by suggesting edits. Glory never dies!
Suggest an editGet to know me
Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Herd
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
